


Truth Beneath Shadow

by Aini



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, light blood warning, mentions of torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-15 18:19:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 59,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13619004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aini/pseuds/Aini
Summary: Through a series of events, Neji and Shikamaru learn to balance their relationship and all the changes that come with it. What they didn't expect was for Itachi to become a big part of their lives. If they just happen to help uncover the truth of the past and protect the future while they're working things out... well, they're called geniuses for a reason.





	1. So It Begins

**Author's Note:**

> After re-watching all of the Naruto anime recently, I suddenly got a spark to revisit this story as I'd been planning to do for a while. Things were falling into place better and information that I'd forgotten was wiggling its way into the plot. I finally felt like I could give this tale the attention it deserved.
> 
> So first and foremost, this story is a rewrite of the old one. The general plot remains the same, but there will definitely be twists and turns that weren't there before. In a way, it's a brand new story!
> 
> For those of you who enjoyed the old version, I really hope you'll like this newer version as well, if not more so. I'm really quite happy with how this version is playing out, far better than the old one.
> 
> Many, many, many thanks to my beta, kyuubi_wench for all she's done for me in checking and double checking this work. This story wouldn't be back up here if it wasn't for her!

There was a natural silence surrounding Neji as he made his way through the woods just outside of the village walls. His wandering wasn’t nearly as aimless as many might think, but that wasn’t something he was concerned about. At the moment, he simply wanted to just take some time to clear his mind, to not think about all that had changed for him since he’d graduated from the Academy. His first Chuunin exams, Hinata’s ever strengthening character, Naruto (and everything around him), the mission to retrieve Sasuke. Of course, there was what he’d learned about his father and the entirety of the clan as well. So much had happened in so little time.

These walks of his were not common, nor were they rare. At sixteen, he knew his mind worked differently than most people and he found every now and then he simply needed to not think. His standing in the clan hadn’t changed much since the Chuunin exams. The relationship between the main house and branch house had gotten better, but not by much. Despite Hiashi and Hinata’s best efforts, the elders of the clan were stubborn in that tradition needed to be maintained and that it was necessary for there to be a separation in order to make sure that the Byakugan would be well protected.

Still there had been change and Neji was certainly benefiting from some of it. His uncle spoke to him more freely now that he was aware of what his father had been thinking before his sacrifice. Hiashi had also taken it on himself to train Neji more fully, pushing as far as he could in teaching techniques used primarily by the main house. The elders would glare and grumble, but nothing secret had been shared yet so they could not openly complain or reprimand Hiashi for his actions. Even they couldn’t deny that Neji was one of the best shinobi that the Hyuuga clan had ever produced.

Shaking his head with an inaudible sigh, Neji pushed all of that to the side in his mind. He was doing exactly what he didn’t want to do. Right now, he just wanted a blank mind, or as close to it as he could get. There wasn’t a way for him to completely erase all of his thoughts, but if nothing else, he did want a break from the redundant, irritating issues that had been bothering him as of late. These walks of his usually did the trick and with that in mind, he continued on his way, paying particular attention to the greenery around him.

Normally, these walks of his didn’t have a set direction. He would just walk until he felt satisfied. Today, however, he knew where he wanted to go. There was a hill that he’d ended up at before with his walks and it offered a wonderful view of Konoha at the top. He didn’t often stare out over the village, but some days...it was nice to look at the whole of the village and not just the compound where he lived and trained. It wasn’t even something he’d call beautiful, but it was home and he couldn’t deny the fondness and fierce protection he felt for it. Regardless of all the danger and destruction it had suffered during the Chuunin exams, Konoha felt safe.

It was a small incline to the top and once in the clearing, he merely stood there, looking out over the whole of the village. It was relaxing, really, to just take in the shapes of the buildings, their color and construction. Time passed by smoothly and unhurriedly. However, at the same time, he was a little surprised when he realized that the sun was just resting above the edge of the horizon. When had it gotten so late? It was a good thing that he took these walks on his days off, when he had no meetings or trainings scheduled.

As he stood there the back of his mind prickled, in the oddly soothing way that it did, letting him know that someone was heading to where he was. While he wasn’t particularly bothered that someone else was here, he was staying alert to see who it was or if they would get close enough for him to find out. Granted, if it was a particular dog nin, he wouldn’t stick around. While he could admit that he was impressed with the Inuzuka’s skill alongside Akamaru, Kiba had been a bit unruly as of late. To the point that even Hinata had come home not long ago a bit annoyed with her teammate. It seemed he was in luck, however, as he only sensed a single chakra source.

There was no pause at all from the other person when he was clearly in view (they had no doubt sensed his own chakra as they’d gotten closer), just a slow, steady movement forward. It wasn’t until they were in his peripheral, however, that he got to see who it was. Not a word was shared between them, though Neji did bow his head politely in greeting when Nara Shikamaru glanced his way. A simple nod was what he got in return before those sharp, brown eyes went back to gazing out over the city. They stood in silence, which Neji was surprised to find wasn’t awkward. It was almost...comfortable.

Shikamaru eventually gave up on standing, moving to first sit and then lay on the ground, his arms curling behind his head as he looked up into the evening sky. Neji joined him in looking upwards for a moment, taking in the shades of orange, red, and pink of the clouds as the sun began to set. It was beautiful and something that he, sadly, rarely took the time to appreciate. Despite what others might think, he was not a cold or uncaring person. Perhaps it came across that way as when it came to missions, he was strict with himself, as well as others, and tried to follow the rules as much as possible. His personal life, however, wasn’t as full of strict routines as others might think. Not that it was any of their business in the first place.

“You might as well sit down. It would be more comfortable to focus on things that way.”

Milky eyes drifted to the shinobi lying on the ground. Shikamaru’s gaze, however, hadn’t left the skies. Rumor had it that he was a sky gazer and a younger Neji would have thought that the other nin was just lazy. With time and growth, however, he was probably more aware than most that it wasn’t laziness that the Nara took these breaks. Maybe simply lying on the ground and staring into the sky was his way of unwinding, much like taking a walk was his own. His brain most likely ran around faster than Neji’s did and it made sense that he would need moments to simply not think.

“And if I said I was fine with standing?” Neji asked, no inflection in his voice to make him sound superior or that what the other nin had suggested was stupid. He didn’t have the energy right now to keep up all the pretenses.

Shikamaru shrugged lightly. “Makes little difference to me. Just thought I’d toss that out there.” No taunting, no teasing, no sarcasm. It was simply a straight, honest suggestion.

A younger Neji would have snorted and either would have continued standing or turned on his heel to walk away. Even now, he couldn’t deny that sometimes he would have acted that way. He would do as he pleased. Yet, for some reason, he didn’t feel a need to keep an appearance in front of the Nara. He did nothing for a few seconds before he sat down, back straight yet relaxed as his legs crossed in front of him. Normally this was how he sat when he wanted to meditate, but for now he was going to let his mind wander as it wanted and not think about the recent changes in his life. Shikamaru didn’t move or say anything and he found that he was oddly relieved by that.

As he returned his attention back to the village and the forest surrounding him, his mind turned to the many missions he’d participated in, finally landing on the one where they’d attempted to bring Uchiha Sasuke back. They’d been young then and their foes had not been pushovers. Those one on one battles had nearly killed two of them and had left the others injured, both physically and emotionally. As he recalled his battle with  Kid ou maru , his hand unconsciously lifted to just above his heart, his fingers pressing gently against the scar he’d gained from that fight.

“Does it hurt?”

Pulled from his thoughts, Neji looked over to find Shikamaru starting at him. No, he was staring at where his hand was resting. His eyes were deceptively unfocused, but the Hyuuga could tell how sharp the younger man’s attention really was. After all, the Nara had been in charge of that mission, as a brand new chuunin. He’d taken a lot of the blame onto his own shoulders, despite what others told him. He couldn’t be everywhere at once and Neji, along with the rest of that team, had reminded him time and time again that they’d all agreed to the possibility of fighting in one on one battles. There was regret in those eyes, hard as it was to see.

“No,” Neji answered softly, letting his hand fall back into his lap. “It is stiff every now and then, but it never hurts.”

For a moment, Shikamaru said nothing, his eyes still locked at the scar’s resting place. When he did look away, it was only to meet with the Hyuuga’s own gaze, if only for a few seconds, before he hummed and turned his attention back to the sky. He looked relieved, if the older nin was reading his expression correctly. Allowing a very slight grin to cross his face, Neji looked back over the village. From what he had seen Shikamaru wasn’t one to outwardly show concern or worry. Granted, he hadn’t spent a lot of time with him. Scratch that, he hadn’t spent a lot of time with anyone other than his team before Naruto had knocked him down.

While he still spent most of his free time with Lee and Tenten, sometimes he found himself in the company of Hinata and her team. If Naruto hadn’t left to train with one of the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, he was sure that he would have been spending more time with the energetic shinobi as well. The village was quieter without Naruto, that was for sure, and he was surprised to find that he missed it, in a strange way. No one knew when Naruto would be returning and that thought was something that he found left him feeling almost...lonely.

Naruto had really grown on all of them.

“Congrats on making chuunin,” Shikamaru said, still staring at the sky.

“Thank you,” Neji replied, glancing over at the other nin.

“Aiming for jounin?”

With a soft hum, he nodded. “That’s the next step.”

For a moment, Shikamaru was silent. “ANBU.”

It wasn’t surprising to him that the Nara had figured out what he’d meant by the statement. Granted, most people probably would have figured it out if given enough time, but Shikamaru was always rather quick to connect the dots. It was just slightly annoying. “That’s correct.”

With a small shake of his head, the Nara closed his eyes. “Too much trouble.”

Neji couldn’t help the smirk that crawled onto his face. “I hear that’s a regular response from you.” While he could say this wasn’t the most invigorating conversation he’d ever had, he had to admit he was rather surprised of just how...easy it was to talk to Shikamaru. There were no boundaries, no walls that needed to be torn down to bring out the playful side in both of them. It was a smooth, almost natural, flow of conversation. Perhaps their brains were wired similarly and that’s what made it so simple. He doubted that was entirely the case, but it might explain why it was so easy.

“Would’ve stayed a genin if I’d had the choice,” Shikamaru replied, his mouth tilting upwards slightly. “Ah, troublesome.”

When Neji didn’t reply, he was once again surprised at the comfortable silence that fell between them. He didn’t feel a need to keep the conversation going. Content, he turned his attention back out over the village, letting his mind float away to areas that it wanted to go to. When the sun had finally set and the last of its light began to fade quickly from the sky, he decided it was time for him to head back home. After getting to his feet, he paused and looked down to Shikamaru lying on the ground with his eyes closed and his breathing deep. Had he fallen asleep?

 _It’s probably the only time his mind actually comes close to stopping_ , Neji thought to himself. He wondered if he should wake the younger nin up, but eventually decided that he should just leave. The Nara had probably fallen asleep here before and as there wasn’t any particular threats to the village at the moment, there was peace in the decision to simply let him rest while he could. Besides, the night patrol would be taking up their shift soon. They’d probably wake Shikamaru up and send him home when they came around. His decision made, he turned quietly to walk away, back down the way he’d come before.

“Do you play shogi?”

Neji paused and looked back. The shadow nin hadn’t moved and his eyes were still closed. Had he simply been resting? “Yes, though it’s been a few months since I last played.”

“How about a game?”

For a moment, he debated on his answer. Shogi wasn’t his favorite game to play, though he could appreciate the thinking process that went into it. Still, he’d been offered an invitation. He didn’t know Shikamaru very well, but today’s company and light conversation had been enjoyable. Perhaps it was a look at the kind of friendship they could have. Or at least, he could hopefully gain a steady shogi partner, to help build his strategy skills. With a light smile, he paid attention to the Nara’s face, which had remained unchanged during his silence.

“It would be my pleasure.”

“Tomorrow?”

“If that works for you.”

“Seven at the parlor near the Hokage’s office?”

“That will be fine.”

“See you then.”

“Until tomorrow.”

Bowing his head slightly, though Shikamaru’s eyes were still closed, he once again turned to walk away and back down the path he came. Tomorrow, he was going to play a game of shogi, against the genius Shikamaru. He couldn’t help but grin. There were stories and rumors of the Nara’s tactical and strategy building skills, not to mention what he’d seen himself with the mission to retrieve Sasuke. Perhaps he’d get to experience more of that genius tomorrow at the parlor when they got to play.

He couldn’t help but feel a little excited over the prospect. How long had it been since he’d really had a challenge when it came to shogi? The last person who had beat him in a game had been his uncle and that had been over two years ago. He’d gone unbeaten since then, though he did have to be fair in his judgment that most of his games had been played against members of the Hyuuga family. Still, he found himself getting excited. He almost anticipated losing. Of course, he was going to do his best to win. He’d offend himself if he simply gave in. He doubted that Shikamaru would be pleased either.

With that in mind, Neji headed straight for home with the intent on pulling out some of the shogi books that he knew were resting in the Hyuuga compound. He felt that there would be a need to review all the tactics he could get his hands on, whether he’d had the opportunity to use them or not. For the first time in a long while, he was actually looking forward to tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated as I enjoy hearing everyone's thoughts! Once again, I hope you'll enjoy this story as I post the rewritten chapters!


	2. Shogi for Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Two chapters today! This was my way of showing that I really am excited to post this story again. That and I really enjoyed writing this chapter again. It's just so much fun!
> 
> My beta, kyuubi_wench, seems to believe that these two are going on a bunch of dates and are totally flirting with one another, even if they don't know it. What do you think? haha

Walking into a shogi parlor wasn’t something Neji was used to. It wasn’t his first time, but he believed that he could count on one hand how many times he’d actually done so. Most of the games that he’d ever played had been against other members of the Hyuuga family and thus has been played at the compound. This was one of the nicer parlors as well, where rooms were sectioned off to give a feel of privacy. That was something he could appreciate and after inquiring at the front desk if Shikamaru had arrived, he felt relief to know that he had.

As he entered the room and found Shikamaru sitting on one side of the board, he felt immensely more comfortable. Something about the younger nin made him feel that way, though he honestly couldn’t say what exactly. He bowed his head in greeting as he made his way to the other side of the shogi board, staring at the pieces that had been set out carefully. A server came by and he ordered a simple tea, but otherwise tried to study his opponent. Clever as he was, however, Shikamaru gave nothing away. Instead, he waited until Neji was fully settled before he made the first move on the board. Neji moved his first piece in turn and the game was on. To say he was excited for the oncoming challenge was a bit of an understatement.

The first game he lost almost embarrassingly fast and the second game wasn’t much longer than the first. Frustrated that he was being beaten so easily, he began to place all the knowledge he had into the third match. Fortunately it showed, and he had the advantage so far. Shikamaru was taking more time to ponder his next move, which was something Neji appreciated compared to the lightning fast decisions from the game before. He could say that it didn’t make a difference in feeling better about himself, but he’d be lying. Fortunately, he didn’t have to say it.

“Nice move,” Shikamaru said quietly, lifting his hand up to his mouth as he studied the board.

Neji merely nodded his head in thanks, but mentally he was cheering at the praise.

“You’re actually trying this time,” the Nara added with a smirk.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve played against someone who could offer me a challenge.” The older nin narrowed his eyes slightly at his own pieces. True as the words might be, he was making excuses and they both knew it. He’d underestimated Shikamaru’s skill and had paid for it by losing the first two games they’d played.

“Glad you decided to come out of retirement then.” The growing smirk on Shikamaru’s face was not appreciated.

“You’re mocking me,” Neji stated stiffly, raising his eyes to rest fully on the other’s face. _Don’t get riled up. He’s trying to set you of balance. Focus._

With a soft chuckle, Shikamaru shook his head. “Nah. Just enjoying the process of this game more than the first two.”

It was an honest statement, nothing barbed or meant to offend. Still, the Hyuuga struggled to not let it bother him, to not get irritated at the words. He managed to get it under control just as Shikamaru made his move. Perplexed, he drew his browns together in both confusion and concentration. Why had he moved that way? It simply didn’t add up in his head. As he tried to think of all the outcomes of such a move, of how it might give the younger nin the advantage, all Neji could see was that it had been a sacrificial move. But what for? To what point and purpose was it worth it to sacrifice the piece? Perhaps it was a bluff, to get him to move differently?

Impatience won over his need to think of all the possible future routes that could take place and he no doubt moved his next piece in the way that Shikamaru wanted. For the next several moves that followed, the advantage remained in his favor and he was starting to believe that he’d seen through a bluff. But then the Nara made his strike and it hit hard. It was only then that he began to see his mistake. He fought to keep his advantage and tried to end it quickly, but try as he might, he could see that he was going to lose. It was more infuriating to lose this way compared to the first two games. In the end, Shikamaru won, leaving him with three lost matches for the day.

To him, it was unacceptable. He had some training to do.

“Great game,” Shikamaru stated, stretching his arms over his head before leaning back on his hands. “Haven’t need to play a game that seriously against anyone other than my dad.”

That gave Neji pause. “Even against Asuma?”

To that, the younger man merely shrugged. “He’s good, but he’s never beat me or gotten close. You did.”

With a soft hum as his response, the Hyuuga could feel the blow from his defeat softening by the subtle compliment. A part of him didn’t care that the Nara was able to do that with his words alone, but for the most part he didn’t feel like fighting the feeling. How long had it been since he had felt like there was someone who he could be around and talk to? Someone that he didn’t feel like was trying to insult him or made him feel that he needed to defend his honor or the honor of the Hyuuga clan? The only other person he could recall being open with his thoughts to was Naruto and even _that_ was pushing it.

Could Shikamaru...be someone like that for him?

“I don’t have time for another game today,” Neji stated calmly, “but I would like to play against you again. It’s good stimulation. Something I’ve not had for a few years.”

“Sure,” Shikamaru nodded. “I’ll let you know the next time I’m free.”

Neji gave him a small grin in response. “Great.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“You look exhausted. Are you sure you want to play?”

“Trust me, after the day I’ve had, this game will be a welcome distraction.”

“...I see. Was Asuma pushing you to train harder today?”

A soft snort. “No, he knows I won’t push that hard unless I need to. Our Hokage, however, doesn’t seem to get that.”

A smirk. “Ah. So it was Lady Tsunade that was using your brain.”

“Using it? She was _abusing_ it.”

“Oh?”

“...Nice try. I’m not telling you what she wanted my head for.”

“And here I thought you could confide in me.”

“Again, not telling. Nice try though. Guilt trips don’t work on me.”

“I’ve noticed. I believe Ino tries more than most from what I have seen.”

“Troublesome woman.”

“From what I’ve noticed, every woman is troublesome to you.”

“Not all of them. Your cousin isn’t.”

“Hinata?”

“Hm. She’s not overbearing, doesn’t make things difficult, and works with her team instead of trying to stand out. It’s refreshing.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were attracted to her.”

“Nah, she’s sweet, but her eyes are already glued to someone else. Not to mention Hyuuga clan rules on marriage are pretty damn strict.”

“What?”

“You know those rules better than I d-”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“You haven’t noticed?”

“I’m not blind, Nara. I’ve _noticed_. You, however, seem to know who she likes. Who is it?”

“Not my place to say. Ask her. Also, it’s your turn.”

“...She won’t tell me.”

“I’m sure there’s a reason. Check.”

“...Am I that terrifying?”

“Well, maybe to her. If I’ve been watching things right, you two have come a long way, but there’s got to be moments where she still struggles with the relationship between the two of you. You used to act like you hated her, you know.”

“Hm...”

“Checkmate.”

“...Another game?”

“Heh, sure, but you’re not going to get any information about her crush from me.”

“We will see.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Naruto’s back.”

“Yes, I know. He ran into me.”

“You mean you two bumped into each other.”

“No, he ran into me. Actually, to say he launched himself at me would be more accurate.”

“...And you let him?”

“For a moment. He landed on the ground shortly after.”

“You missed him.”

“You didn’t?”

“Eh, he’s noisy and attracts trouble.”

“Hm. You missed him as well.”

“Whatever.”

“Just admit that to yourself, Nara. Check.”

“...Nice move.”

“Thank you.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Congratulations on making jounin.”

“Hmph. Not like I wanted to move up another rank.”

“Your expertise can’t be ignored, Nara.”

“Shikamaru.”

“...I’m sorry?”

“I think we’re past the point of referring to each other by our clan names. Or do you like being called Hyuuga better than Neji?”

“...”

“Sorry. I over-stepped. We can-”

“No, my apologies. I was simply...I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Kind of got that. So?”

“...It’s alright.”

“Good. Now get the game started.”

“How impatient you are...Shikamaru.”

“Only when the game hasn’t started yet, Neji.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Guess it’s my turn to congratulate you on making jounin.”

“I suppose it is.”

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

“A gift.”

“...You bought me a gift?”

“Your birthday was yesterday, wasn’t it?”

“... You got me a gift?”

“Yeah. Need me to state that again?”

“Shut up.”

“Defensive, Neji.”

“Start the game.”

“Now who’s the impatient one?”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Shikamaru...”

“Please don’t.”

“...Alright.”

“...”

“...”

“Neji, what are you doing?”

“My back is turned. Go ahead.”

“What?”

“You’re not done grieving yet. Go on.”

“I don’t-”

“Don’t be stubborn, Shikamaru. He was your teacher...and your closest friend.”

“Stupid.”

“...It’s alright. It’s okay to c-”

“Don’t say it. Already d-did all this a-at home. D-Damn it! St-Stupid...”

“...Normally, I’d be quite offended.”

A choked laugh filled the room. “I-Idiot...”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“It’s amazing what you can do when you’re motivated.”

“Hm.”

“Really, Shikamaru. You defeated a member of Akatsuki by yourself. Considering the amount of lives that just one of them has taken, that is _not_ a small feat.”

“Hm.”

“Did you apply for ANBU before or after your battle with the one called Hidan?”

“Hm. Before. Wait, how did you-?”

“You’re not the only intelligent one around here.”

“...Someone blabbed.”

“Hmph. You don’t think I-”

“I know you _could_ have, Neji, but any and all ANBU files are highly classified and of the highest security. You’re not one to break into the archives for information. Someone told you.”

“...Perhaps.”

“Who?”

“I can’t say.”

“Neji, if someone is sharing _classified_ information whenever they please, we need to-”

“Shiranui Genma.”

“Genma... Should’ve guessed. Why’d he tell you?”

“...You know, I have no idea.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“How’s your leg, Shikamaru?”

“Getting better. I’m told that I’ll be out of the cast in a few days, if I don’t do anything stupid.”

“Obviously the medic doesn’t know you very well.”

“It could have been worse.”

“Yes...I suppose it could have been.”

“You’re still beating yourself up for not being here.”

“Pain annihilated the village while I was returning from a mission. I should have-”

“Neji, I’ll tell you as many times as I need to, there wasn’t anything you could have done.”

“But-”

“None of us were able to defeat him. Naruto was the only one. Trust me...you’re not the only one who feels like they failed in protecting the village.”

“...I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. I get it. We just need to focus on rebuilding the village as best we can and doing what we can while Lady Tsunade is recovering. Though a game of shogi every now and then is good too.”

“...You’ve been bored.”

“Out of my mind. Mind if I start?”

“Be my guest. ...Thank you, Shikamaru.”

“Don’t thank me just yet. We’ve got a long way to go.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Honestly, does he really expect us to just...sit by and do nothing?”

“You know how he feels about Sasuke.”

“Yes and he needs to be reasoned with. Sasuke attacked the Kage Summit, Shikamaru.”

“...Yeah, something about that doesn’t sit right with me, to be honest.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sasuke, as...frustrating as he is, wasn’t ever one to attack unnecessarily. Even if it was under orders, he’d have to realize how fruitless it would be to fight against the five Kage. They’re Kage for a reason. He’d only attack like that if he had a personal goal. Something or someone was there that he was trying to get to. Still, that doesn’t excuse his actions and Naruto needs to realize that...someone might get to Sasuke before he does.”

“Are you saying we should respect his wishes and not actively hunt Sasuke down?”

“...I don’t know, Neji. I really don’t. Naruto’s a hero to the village. Is it terrible if we give him just this one request?”

“...I’m not sure if I can fully agree with this, but...perhaps it wouldn’t be.”

“Hm. We’re just going to have to trust Naruto, I think. Though if Sasuke tries to do anything else stupid-”

“We won’t hesitate to stop him.”

“Exactly. Now, enough about them. I don’t want to think about any of that right now. Let’s play.”

“As you wish. I hope you’re ready to lose.”

“You said that last time. I hope you’re planning to follow through with that today.”

“...If I didn’t enjoy playing with you so much, you’d be on your back right now.”

“Lucky me then. I’d rather not get hit with the Jyuuken.”

“Hm. I’ll wait till your leg is fully healed for that.”

“Your consideration is touching...”

“I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, feel free to scream and squeal at me. haha Comments are always appreciated, as are the kudos!


	3. Unexpected Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Here is the next chapter in the rewrite of this story. I had a good time reworking this part compared to the original that just didn't flow as well when I reread. Of course, now that I have a better idea of a timeline for my plot, it also required that I add some stuff to the story so there's a little extra this time around.
> 
> As always, happy reading!

Four years had passed since Neji had started to play shogi with Shikamaru. Hundreds of games had been played between them and the friendship that had grown was far stronger than either of them had anticipated. They’d found common threads between them and that only led to them being able to have ‘conversations’ with their actions alone. This had been especially helpful on the few missions they’d worked together on. These silent communication skills had made it easy for the two of them to complete a goal and so far any mission that had both of them working on it had yet to not be successful.

Now a jounin, Neji hadn’t given up his goal of becoming ANBU, though it had been put on hold for the time being. Shikamaru had been accepted not long after he’d defeated Hidan, the feat itself having replaced any test they might have given to him. While he hadn’t ever found out why the Nara had applied for the job, the change in his attitude hadn’t been missed. Perhaps the loss of Asuma had motivated him to move on up, but that wasn’t something the Hyuuga was going to pry into. He didn’t dig for information, not where his friends were concerned. If Shikamaru ever wanted to share his thoughts or his reasoning, he would happily sit and listen.

He wasn’t the only one who had noticed the change in attitude either. Chouji and Ino, as friends and teammates, had no doubt seen the shift. Perhaps they even knew all the reasons behind it, considering they were around him more than anyone else. However, Neji was sure that the Hokage was aware of his change of attitude, considering how often she called Shikamaru for aid in planning. The one that had surprised him, however, was Naruto. The training he’d gone through with Jiraiya had obviously been good for him. He had become particularly perceptive since he’d first left for his training.

It was clear that he’d learned a lot from one of the legendary Sannin and he’d become far stronger than anyone had probably expected of him. Even with the passing of his teacher, Naruto had gone and mastered the art of senjutsu, something that not just anyone could do. The details of it all eluded Neji (as it wasn’t something the Hyuuga family had ever concerned themselves with), but he did know just how powerful one could be if they mastered the art. After Naruto’s feats against Pain and saving Konoha, he’d finally been awarded the rank of chuunin and at his current rate, would make jounin in no time.

Things had grown more chaotic for Konoha within the last half year. After Pain’s attack and obliteration of the village structure had come the rebuilding. Of course, during the rebuilding, Tsunade had been unconscious and unable to fulfill her duties as Hokage. This had led to a temporary replacement by someone known as Shimura Danzou. Neji didn’t know much about him, but there was something about the man that just felt...wrong. That was only further compounded by the report he’d overheard from the Kazekage when he’d come to visit after the Kage Summit.

What Sasuke had done would have been enough of a shock to send everyone within earshot reeling (Neji and Shikamaru had been there ready to hear of a new mission). However, learning that their temporary Hokage had tried to control the summit by using genjutsu to put himself in charge was horrifying. Then while Sasuke had kept the rest of the Kage distracted, he’d abandoned his post and had fled from the building had left them all dumbfounded. Tsunade had been furious, mad enough that no one had wanted to be near her as it looked as if she might bring the whole building down. She’d immediately ordered for the man’s arrest, to be held in the newly finished Intelligence Division, with Ibiki in charge of watching him.

Gaara had left them after sharing the information that had been exchanged at the Summit, after sharing that he was glad that Tsunade was doing better and was back in control. Danzou's actions had caused a lack of faith in Konoha, but with Tsunade back in charge, some of that faith was no doubt being restored. There was an advantage to having one of the legendary Sannin in office as Hokage it seemed. Still, there was a lot of work to do, considering that they would be preparing for a war against a man who claimed to be Uchiha Madara.

Amidst all this chaos, missions continued on as they had before or as closely to it as Tsunade could keep it while they prepared for war. Surveillance, capturing or taking down rogue nin, and the minor missions that genin would usually take on hadn’t decreased with the threat of Akatsuki looming over everything they did. If anything, the rogue nin had increased around the borders of the village. Pain’s destruction of Konoha no doubt had made them believe that it would be easy to infiltrate and gain information.

Neji found himself waiting at the gates of the village a few days after Gaara’s visit with the summons of a patrol mission running through his mind. All of the past events ran through his thoughts as he waited for the rest of his team to arrive. Danzou's actions alone were unsettling and underhanded. He hadn’t just lost the trust of the other four Kage. He’d lot the trust of many of Konoha’s nin. It seemed to be a mutual understanding between them that genjutsus were not meant to be used outside of battle. To use it on a group of potential allies was an insult to them and their skill.

“Ah, my rival Neji! You have beat me to the meeting point!”

Slowly opening his eyes, Neji turned his attention to one of his oldest teammates, Rock Lee. Lee was as energetic as he usually was, unperturbed by the looks and stares he would get for his interesting choice of clothing. It also seemed that Lee turned everything into a competition, no matter how minor the task. While it normally did not bother him in the least, every now and then he would admit to being annoyed and wishing that there was a way to stop the constant pressure for competition. Perhaps he should go asked Kakashi for tips with how he dealt with Gai.

“Good morning, Lee,” he nodded, standing up straight.

“A good morning it is!” Lee replied, pumping his fist in the air. “I had thought that I would be here first, but you have beaten me! As punishment, I’ll-"

“You will have to put it off, Lee,” Neji interrupted, long used to this routine. “We have a mission. You can do your self-imposed punishment later.” There was no point in trying to dissuade Lee from actually carrying out his punishments. He and Tenten had tried everything they could think of to stop him and had failed every time. Even tying him up hadn’t changed anything. They had long given up on stopping him.

“Ah, how foolish of me! You are right!” Lee nodded, looking thoughtful. “The mission comes first!”

“You know, you’re too energetic.”

Turning his attention to his side, he watched as Kiba and Shino walked their way. The dog nin yawned slowly, stretching out his arms as he rode Akamaru’s back. Right behind them was Shikamaru, the leader of this patrol mission. He had the highest rank of all of them as ANBU, though only Neji was aware that he was a part of that group. To the rest of their comrades, he was simply a jounin and the most senior one at that. Neji was a jounin as well, while the other three were still chuunin (though Lee had gotten very close to earning the rank of jounin the year before).

“Kiba and Shino! Shikamaru as well! Good morning to all of you!”

“Seriously,” Kiba grumbled, wincing at Lee’s volume. “Too much energy.”

“Meh, it has its uses,” Shikamaru sighed, as nonchalant as ever. “Let’s get going. The sooner we get done, the better.”

Neji almost smirked. Some things didn’t seem like they’d ever change.

“So, here’s the layout for this mission,” the Nara stated, opening up a map. “We’re to check these two areas, but if there isn’t anything dangerous, the Hokage wants us to check these two areas as well. Everyone clear?”

“Yeah, but it seems kind of excessive to send five of us out all at once,” Kiba said, stretching his upper body. “Akamaru and I could easily cover two of those areas by ourselves.”

“With Akatsuki hunting for the remaining tailed beasts and the upcoming war, she’s not taking chances. She needs us all alive,” Shikamaru replied. “We’ll go in a single line for the patrol. Kiba and Akamaru up front, followed by Lee, then Shino. I’ll follow after him and Neji will pull up the rear. Any questions?”

None were asked and so Shikamaru gave Kiba the nod to go. The patrol itself started off quietly. Nothing dangerous was crossing into their focus and it seemed that they would complete the patrol with no problems. As they made their way through the final area of their patrol, Neji couldn’t shake the feeling that something was waiting for them ahead. Something big. It was an uneasy feeling, but so far nothing had appeared that could even come close to being the cause behind it. His teammates didn’t seem to be feeling the same way, if their unperturbed movements were any sign. Perhaps he was simply imagining things.

Just as he was about to dismiss the idea and ignore his gut, a sharp growl from Akamaru made them all halt immediately in the trees.

“What is it, boy?” Kiba asked softly, tense and ready.

The nin dog continued to growl and his hackles began to rise in response to the question. A look from Shikamaru was all Neji need and he silently activated his Byakugan, hoping to catch whoever it was that had pulled such a reaction from Akamaru. The area seemed to be clear, until his eyes landed on a body of chakra, one that wasn’t even bothering to hide itself. It made him freeze for a moment before he was bounding forward without a word to the others. They would follow him no doubt, but this threat was best addressed as quickly as possible. Akamaru was close on his heels, growling as he followed.

He landed in a clearing in a defensive position, ready to strike. Akamaru landed at his side, Kiba cursing under his breath when he landed next to his companion. Lee, Shino, and Shikamaru were not far behind them and each immediately took a defensive position of their own. Akamaru’s growls mixed in with the rushing sound of Shino’s bugs as Lee quickly loosened the bandages on his arms. Of course, in addition to all this, all five kept their focus just below the eyes of the shinobi in front of them.

After all, Uchiha Itachi was not one to be underestimated.

“Eyes down, Akamaru,” Kiba growled softly. “Don’t look into his eyes.”

“Uchiha Itachi, you are no longer welcome within Konohagakure,” Shikamaru stated, his tone obviously the one he used when he was acting as ANBU. If it had been anyone else in front of them, Neji was sure that the rest of their team would have shown their surprise. “You will go no further and we will stop you with whatever force necessary.”

“You won’t take Naruto from us!” Lee added with a firm shout. Had the situation been any different, Neji would have smacked the back of his teammate’s head. Really, there wasn’t any reason to rile up their enemy.

For a moment, there was only silence and his Byakugan watched as Itachi slowly looked at each of the shinobi opposite of him. After taking in a good long look, the Uchiha turned his attention back to Shikamaru, having no doubt decided that he was the leader of their current mission. “I am not here for the Kyuubi retainer.”

Kiba growled and his eyes narrowed. “Like we’re going to believe that!”

Itachi’s gaze didn’t pull away from the Nara, despite Kiba’s open aggression towards him. Instead, he slowly began to move his hands forward, showing his palms to the group when it was clear that they wouldn’t allow him to lift his hands in the universal sign to show that he meant no harm. “I am here to surrender.”

Neji blinked, glancing over at Shikamaru. “Surrender?”

Shino snorted. “Unlikely.”

“It is the truth,” Itachi replied.

“Then you would not object to us blindfolding you and binding your arms before escorting you into Konoha?” Shikamaru asked. Neji didn’t care much for the somewhat cold ANBU speech coming from his friend, but he had to admit that it was easily serving its purpose.

“I will submit to it,” Itachi answered, no doubt falling on the same training for his responses. “However, I do have one condition before I would allow you to do so.”

“Condition?” Shikamaru frowned, eyes narrowing.

“I am to be taken to the Hokage and no one else.” It was said quietly, but with conviction. Clearly there wasn’t going to be a compromise in this situation.

“Asshole, as if we’d let-” Kiba snarled, crouching down to get ready to strike only to be cut off.

“Kiba, be quiet,” Neji said firmly, not unaware of the glare it earned him.

“You will surrender peacefully if we take you directly to the Hokage?” Shikamaru asked, clearly reiterating the demand just to be sure he had it right.

“Correct,” Itachi answered, though it was clear that he would be ready to retreat or fight back if they wouldn’t accept his stipulation.

“I will accept this condition,” the Nara answered quickly, as no doubt their Hokage would want that done regardless. Without pause, he immediately sent his shadow forward as fast as he could, making it quite clear what he intended to do. Despite its speed, Neji was sure that had Itachi wanted to dodge it, he very easily could have. Yet he didn’t move, kept his gaze locked on Shikamaru and his palms still facing upward. When the shadows connected and Shikamaru let his arms slowly drop to his sides, it was nearly silent as Itachi’s own followed suit. Only Akamaru’s softening growl and the buzz of Shino’s bugs broke the quiet.

“Kagemane...complete,” Shikamaru stated, his voice soft with surprise. The rest of the team began to slowly relax, though they were sharply watching Itachi and keeping their guard up. Breaking hold of Shikamaru’s shadow meant one needed physical strength and a lot of it (he had steadily been increasing its strength over the past few years). While they were all aware of the supposed strength the Uchiha had, no one was quite ready to trust that he didn’t have the strength to break free. As Shino’s bugs slowly returned to their owner and Kiba let his hand rest on Akamaru’s scruff, no one said anything for a moment, the reality of what had just happened still sinking in.

“Neji, scan the area,” Shikamaru ordered, keeping his eyes locked on his captive. “Make sure there’s no one else nearby.”

“I came alone,” Itachi stated.

“I’d like to make sure of that myself,” the Nara replied.

Neji did as he was asked, stretching the limits of the Byakugan as far as he could, before he turned his attention back to Shikamaru. “It’s clear.”

With a nod, Shikamaru temporarily turned his gaze to the older nin. “Good. Blindfold him and bind his arms so he can’t make any seals.”

While Neji didn’t much care for the situation, he quickly did as he was ordered. If this was a taste of how ANBU missions went, he had best get used to the cold, unfeeling tone of his comrades. Reaching into his own pack for a cloth or bandages that could be used as a blindfold, he cautiously but quickly made his way over to where Itachi was bound. He double checked the shadow, to make sure it was still connected and solid, before he stepped behind the man and immediately began wrapping his bandages firmly, yet gently over Itachi’s eyes. Criminal or not, no one deserved to have their eyes injured by lack of care.

“I think we should just kill him,” Kiba growled, one of his hands curling and then loosening in Akamaru’s still raised fur.

“If he were anyone else, I would let you,” Shikamaru said. “However, as Akatsuki, he has answers to many of the questions that the Hokage has been asking lately. Answers that we don’t have the time to try and figure out. The information he has can give us things we’ll need to formulate battle plans and defense techniques.”

“Help _you_ do all that, you mean,” Kiba grumbled.

Itachi’s attention, though blindfolded, clearly focused on the Nara before his mouth tilted just ever so slightly upward as Neji bound his arms and hands behind his back. “You’re the one that defeated Hidan.”

“How would you know that?” Lee asked, clearly confused. “You were not there to see it.”

“Not important at the moment,” Shikamaru interrupted.

“Finished,” Neji announced, firmly keeping a hand on where he’d tied Itachi’s own together.

“Good,” Shikamaru nodded, gratitude in his gaze. He almost smirked at the sight. He didn’t need to ask why it was there. “Lee, you’re the fastest of all of us. Head straight to the Hokage’s office. Don’t stop for anyone or anything, got it? You speak directly to her.” Lee gave him a quick salute before he was gone, his loosened bandages flapping behind him. While it might have been faster to send someone over via a jutsu, Shikamaru wasn’t taking any chances. They would be walking to their destination.

“Are we going to walk in the middle of the village?” Shino asked, his hands once again in his pockets as his bugs returned to him.

“No, we’re taking the back route,” Shikamaru answered. “We don’t need to create a panic or grab everyone’s attention. Kiba, Shino, I want you both as back up. I want the route we’re taking completely secured from any external threats, or internal ones for that matter. I want you to make sure no one’s going to try and kill him. We need him alive.”

“I still think _we_ should just kill him,” Kiba muttered before he jumped back into the trees, Akamaru and Shino not far behind.

“Neji,” Shikamaru said, turning his attention to the Hyuuga, “you’re going to guide him from behind. If he tries anything, use your Jyuuken to halt his chakra. If it gets out of hand, kill him.”

The words were said coldly, without any inflection of emotion. It wasn’t something that Neji cared for, if he were to be honest with himself, not coming from Shikamaru. At least within ANBU they had code names. Hearing his name said that way was...almost painful. Nonetheless, he nodded and waited for Shikamaru to start walking. Itachi was taller than he was, but not so much that he wouldn’t be able to control him bound as he was. As the Nara began to walk through the forest, he stayed close enough so the shadow between him and Itachi wouldn’t strain. Despite how compliant the Uchiha was being, they both were grateful that it was still there.

Things went smoothly as they made their way to the temporary home of the Hokage’s office, avoiding as much of the reconstruction work and civilians as they could. Just as they were coming out of the woods near the building, four ANBU soldiers immediately came to flank their sides and kept pace with them but made no move to take over. Lee was standing dutifully at the door of the Hokage’s building, saluting as they drew closer. Kiba and Shino appeared from the trees as well, creating even more of a barrier as the ANBU closest to the door moved to open it.

Neji guided Itachi forward just as Shikamaru let his shadow disconnect. Tsunade sat at her desk and watched with narrowed eyes as he was brought in front of her. Shizune was off to Tsunade’s side, looking terribly nervous. Sai, Sakura, and Naruto were there as well, the latter two glaring at the Uchiha as if they could set him on fire with their eyes alone. At the closest ANBU’s direction, Neji stepped away and moved to stand at the side of wall, along with the rest of his patrol team as they waited for whatever was to happen next.

For several moments, no one said anything and the silence was tense. It was making him uncomfortable and he began to look around the office to see what he hadn’t noticed before. The four ANBU were captains, if he interpreted the extra insignia on the sheath of their swords correctly. That wasn’t surprising, considering the man they were surrounding. This brought his attention to Itachi himself, who appeared to be completely unfazed with his position in the room. His lips were pursed, however, in a way that Neji had come to learn meant he was trying to...hold something back. But what?

The silence was finally broken by an orange and black blur, everyone looking quite shocked as Naruto suddenly appeared right in front of Itachi. He snarled viciously, a sound that no one of his age group had ever heard before, before he planted his fist straight into Itachi’s gut, using all the strength that he could manage while holding back enough to not send the Uchiha clean out of the building. It did, however, have Itachi bending forward, his mouth open in a soundless gasp before he was falling to his knees with a thud.

“Naruto!” Sakura gasped, rushing towards her teammate as Lee and Kiba jumped forward. They managed to get their arms around his, pulling him back and holding him in place when he tried to move forward again. Naruto was visibly shaking with his rage and if he hadn’t gained control over it, Neji was almost certain that Kyuubi's chakra would have started pouring out of him at any moment.

“You damn-” Naruto started screaming, struggling against his friends.

“Uzumaki Naruto, stand down!” Tsunade bellowed, pushing herself up from her desk and marching around to the front of it.

Kiba and Lee managed to pull Naruto back to wall, though everyone had their focus on Itachi. He was leaning over, coughing wretchedly with a stream of blood falling from his mouth. Neji watched, horrified, as the coughing fit continued, only to be followed by harsh pants and soft coughs that were so wet he could almost feel it himself. Tsunade glowered at Naruto, who was suddenly more calm and as shocked as the rest of the room. Clicking her tongue against her teeth, the Hokage knelt in front of Itachi, placing a palm just beneath his lungs to start healing him.

How hard had Naruto hit him?

Her eyes widened as she continued, her gaze snapping up to Itachi's face. “You...”

Itachi merely continued to pant, clearly just trying to focus on breathing.

Several minutes passed before Tsunade got to her feet, nodding at one of the ANBU to help Itachi do the same. Itachi was no longer panting, though the streak of blood running from his lips kept everyone silent. Again the quiet reigned until Tsunade moved to lean against her desk, frowning heavily. “Uchiha Itachi, you’ve surrendered and we could technically kill you right here for the crimes on your head. However, you have information that we need. Information...that we’re willing to make a deal for. I believe you came to us with that intention. What do you want?”

Itachi was quiet, turning his head to wipe the blood on his face off on his coat before he turned back to face the Hokage. “Sasuke’s pardon.”

“What?” Sakura asked softly, eyes going wide.

“He left Konoha to gain strength to fight against me,” Itachi stated quietly. “If I had not pushed him to do so, he would have stayed here. My actions are my own and I will not explain myself to you. However, my actions led to him leaving the village...and as such, his crimes are my own. I seek his pardon in exchange for the information that I have.”

“His actions are his own as well,” Tsunade replied and narrowed her eyes, “though I see what it is you’re trying to say. I alone can’t decide if that’s possible. You know that the council will have a say in his fate should he return.”

“I am aware,” the Uchiha nodded. “I also know that if the Hokage and the council can not agree upon a decision, the leaders of each clan are to be called upon to break the tie.”

A sardonic smirk crawled onto Tsunade’s face. “Hm. You remember how things work here. Very well. Depending on the information and the quality of it that we gain from you, should Sasuke return to the village, I will fight to keep him alive. A punishment is unavoidable, but sparing his life should not be impossible.”

Naruto blinked, awed with how quickly the Hokage had agreed to the terms. “Granny...”

Itachi lowered his head, in the appearance of light bow. “That is all...I wish for. I will gladly cooperate for that assurance.”

For a short moment, things were quiet again. Tsunade was the one to break the silence, turning to look at Neji. “Neji, use the Byakugan and check his chakra paths.”

Confused, the Hyuuga let it show. “Hokage?”

The woman huffed, waving her hand impatiently. “Just do it. Tell me if you see anything abnormal.”

Neji shared a look with Shikamaru, who shrugged, before he turned to do as she had asked. There were advantages to the flexibility of the Byakugan, in this case being that he could focus on the individual pathways within Itachi’s body. He started from his feet, slowly climbing upwards to make sure that he didn’t miss any so call abnormalities. Not that he knew what he was looking for either. He was about to announce that things were fine when he ended up pausing at the pathways that connected with the Uchiha’s eyes. They were practically blocked, only a trickle of chakra getting through. It honestly looked rather painful.

“Everything is fine except for behind his eyes. There’s something there blocking the flow of his chakra and letting it build up behind the block. I would say that it’s close to bursting. That is all I can see.”

“As I thought,” Tsunade sighed. “Before there is any interrogation of any kind, I will personally be clearing those chakra paths myself.”

“Hokage!” One of the ANBU captains exclaimed, clearly surprised.

“If those blocks are as serious as have been shared and as what I could feel, it not only threatens his life but the ability for him to share with us what information he has,” the Hokage stated with a heavy frown. “If we tried to get into his head, it could overflow his paths and cause the previously mentioned bursting to actually happen. If that does, we lose everything that he has to share. I need him alive. Am I clear?”

“Yes ma’am,” the captain nodded, his shock no longer present in his voice.

“Take him to the cells at the Intelligence Division. Sai, you are to join them and go down there to guard that cell after he’s been dropped off. Do _not_ let anyone inside of that cell. The only person allowed to go inside of that cell is myself. Not even Ibiki is allowed in there. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Hokage,” Sai nodded, bowing respectfully before he followed the ANBU captains out of the room, Itachi in the middle of them all. Once the door had been closed behind them, Tsunade sighed and walked around back to her chair. From what Neji could see, he and Shikamaru were the only ones not showing their confusion and surprise on their faces. Naruto still looked torn as to whether he should be angry as well, though it seemed that Sakura’s presence was helping him calm down. Still, everyone there seemed to be a bit lost as to what to do next.

“Lee, Kiba, Shino,” Tsunade called out, waiting until the three were standing in front of her desk, “I need you to go out, find Kakashi, and send him here. Once one of you has found him, alert the other two. You’re free to spend the rest of the evening off, but I expect to have a report on this mission from each you by the end of tomorrow.”

“Yes, Hokage!” Lee saluted and then he was rushing out the door. Shino and Kiba nodded their heads politely, affirming her orders before they left as well.

“The rest of you, in front of my desk,” the Hokage ordered, turning her chair to the wall behind her. “Shizune, head to the hospital to get some of the heavy duty sanitizer for the blood.”

The Hokage’s aid nodded her head and headed straight for the door, carefully avoiding the blood on the floor. Neji and Shikamaru did as they’d been told, sharing a look between each other before standing at attention. Naruto trudged his way over, staring at the blood even after he’d come to stop in front of the Hokage’s desk. Sakura turned his attention back to where it should be, though her own eyes lingered for a moment on the spot. The medic in her was trying to figure out just what had caused so much blood in the first place.

However, the silence between them was broken when Tsunade spun her chair back to face the group, her eyes sharp as steel as she let them settle on Naruto. If the frown on her face was anything to go by, Neji was very glad that it was not him that had incurred her wrath. “Naruto, you _idiot_! Do you have any idea what could have happened if Itachi’s intentions had been anything but surrender?!”

Naruto’s face crumbled a bit. “Grann-”

Tsunade growled. “Don’t you even start with me! I have no doubt that he would have been able to get away and take you with him. The only thing that would hinder him would probably be his health! Do _not_ underestimate his skill! He was chuunin at 11 and jounin at 13!”

With a huff, she sank into her seat, still glowering at whatever sat in front of her gaze. Neji agreed with what she’s said, though how compliant Itachi had been made it hard to truly understand that could have happened. Still, even if he understood the dangers behind his actions, Naruto wasn’t one to openly regret his choices, though he had gotten better at apologizing for things when he knew he was in the wrong. It didn’t appear that this time was going to be one of those times, however, if the almost petulant look on his face was anything to go by.

“Save it,” Tsunade snapped when Naruto opened his mouth to speak. “I have something more important to discuss right now. Neji, scan the area. What I’m about to bring up is to be heard and shared with _no one_ other than those in this room.”

Blinking, Neji nodded in agreement before using the Byakugan once again, this time stretching it out to look for anyone who might be listening in. When he confirmed that only ones within hearing distance were her ANBU guards, she nodded and got to her feet with a huff. Marching to the middle of the room (just past the blood), she formed the seals that Neji recognized were for a sound barrier jutsu. Perplexed, he looked at his companions to see that they were feeling the same way, though Shikamaru looked as if he were trying to figure out why.

“Let me state one more time that what I’m about to share with you is in complete secrecy and _no one_ is to hear of it. That is an order,” Tsunade sighed, turning to face the group. “I have a strong distaste for the idea of fate, but it is an extremely strange coincidence that some of the information I received from Danzou’s interrogations a few days ago made me curious. Specifically about the Uchiha massacre. I had a feeling that I needed to follow up on this information and so I went looking for more. Do you know what I found?”

The four younger shinobi looked between each other when it was clear that she was waiting for an answer, but none of them could even fathom an idea as to what the answer might be. Tsunade frowned as she answered. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Neji asked, wanting to make sure that he’d heard right.

“Absolutely nothing,” the Hokage replied, “save for a single file, one that I had to comb nearly the entire archive of missions and reports to find.” She walked back over to her desk, unlocked a drawer, and then pulled out the file she’d mentioned. Without a word, she took on the single paper inside of the folder and handed it to Shikamaru, who looked over it with a frown.

“This can’t be all there is,” Shikamaru said, passing the paper over to Neji, who in turned passed it down the line. “Something of the massacre’s level should have-”

“At least a dozen of these folders, including a file on each and every one of the individuals that were killed, shinobi or civilian,” Tsunade interrupted. “So why is it that’s all there is to the massacre? What could possibly be the cause of such a lack of information? No doubt Itachi could answer those questions, but I doubt he will. Which means if I want answers, I’m going to have to hunt for them.”

“Which is where we come in,” the Nara stated, his eyes narrowing.

“Precisely,” the Hokage nodded, her mouth tilting upward in a smirk.

It wasn’t something that Neji was sure he liked the look of, but at least he was on the right side of that smirk. It meant that she had already planned things out and knew how she wanted to tackle the issue. That usually meant that anyone who was her target was going to have one hell of a time staying out of trouble or out of her way. Still, even he had to admit that since he’d learned of the massacre, he’d always been curious as to how one man could single-handled take down one of the strongest clans within Konoha. And the lack of reports on the event itself was...disturbing.

The only question he had for himself was how badly did he want to know the truth?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love to hear what you think (what you liked, what could have been better) so feel free to leave a comment! It only helps me grow!


	4. Concerns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the next chapter! Going over this again was fun and allowed me to really pin down what I wanted to be said and shared. I came to the realization that something didn't quite fit in the old version of this story, so I had to do some tweaking. I don't believe it took away from this chapter at all though! I hope you'll feel the same!

Neji sighed softly as he laid on his bed, closing his eyes. The afternoon had been far more chaotic than he would have ever expected. Finding Uchiha Itachi during a patrol mission, taking him to the Hokage’s office, hearing the exchange between him and the Hokage, and then the secret mission (one that not even ANBU would be informed of) that had come directly after from said Hokage. It all made him want to sigh again as he pondered on the mission he’d been given. Tsunade had checked to be sure that he’d wanted to be a part of it, but how could he have said no? Still there was a part of him that was very unsure.

What information they found could easily throw light on things that maybe they hadn’t even considered yet.

A knock on his door broke him from with thoughts and he pushed himself up into a sitting position before he spoke. “Come in.”

“Hey.”

Shikamaru nodded as he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him quietly. He took relaxed steps towards the bed and sat down with a light plop. For a moment, he just sat there, staring at the floor. When he moved again, it was to lay back on the bed with his arms underneath his head, his legs hanging off the edge.

Neji raised a brow at the movement. “This is my bed, you know.”

Shikamaru shrugged, letting a light smirk crawl onto his face. “Figured you wouldn’t care.”

Shaking his head slightly, Neji let his posture relax a little. “Well, you’re not wrong. You rarely are.”

With a soft chuckle, the younger nin turned his attention back to the ceiling. “I do my best.” They were quiet for a moment, both lost a bit in their own thoughts. “You were thinking about our mission, weren’t you?”

Had anyone over heard them, the would have thought they were discussing the mission they’d just finished. Neji hummed softly. “You were as well then.”

Shikamaru nodded, letting out a soft snort as well. “Not sure I want to believe what happened.”

 _Neither do I_ , Neji thought to himself, thinking about what had been shared in the Hokage’s office.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“ _So let me get this straight,” Shikamaru sighed. “You want us to help you find details on the Uchiha massacre, which happened ten years ago, to prove that Itachi is innocent?”_

“ _I never said anything about proving his innocence,” Tsunade corrected with a huff. “I simply want to know the truth. This incident has been completely erased for a reason and I want to know why. However, I can’t do it on my own so I’m reaching out to people who I believe I can trust to keep the searching secret.”_

“ _I’m in,” Naruto stated immediately. His eyes blazed at what laid before them. After all, anything they might find could help him understand Sasuke better. The better he understood the thoughts of one he considered his best friend, the more likely he’d be able to convince him to come back._

“ _Me too,” Sakura added, the same spark in her eyes that Naruto had in his._

“ _While I am grateful that you trust me so deeply, Hokage,” Neji said, “I have to believe that there are others who also have your trust that might have more...motivation in helping you with this mission than myself. Might I ask why you have chosen me?”_

“ _Part of it is the convenience of you being in the room,” Tsunade replied honestly. “However, the bigger part of it is that you’re a member of one of the oldest clans within Konoha, one that has a history just as long and as loyal to the village as the Uchiha were. I have no doubt that things are going to be found where we’re going to need that view point, that understanding. If you would rather not-”_

“ _I am happy to aid Konoha in whatever way I can,” Neji interrupted, one of the few times he’d ever done so with the village leader. “Your concerns are not unfounded and as is my duty as a Hyuuga, I will aid help you in whatever ways I possibly can. You have my word.”_

“ _So stiff,” Naruto snorted, but there was a grin accompanying the words._

“ _In addition to what I have just said,” the Hyuuga continued, “I do have to admit...that I have wondered before just how it was possible for the Uchiha to fall as easily as they did. Even if one of their own was the one to complete the task, knowing how hard it is for one Hyuuga member to fight against another, I can’t believe it would be so different among the Uchiha. Information we might find...could also prevent the same from happening to my clan. Especially as the Hyuuga have more of a standing for such a thing to happen than the Uchiha did.”_

“ _What do you mean?” Sakura asked, looking confused._

“ _It has gotten better over the past few years,” Neji explained, a grateful look sent Naruto’s way, “but there’s still animosity between the main and branch families. There was a lot more of it before I was born. It simply makes more sense for fighting between family and such a massacre to happen to the Hyuuga clan than the Uchiha, regardless of how we feel in protecting the village first.”_

“ _A good point,” Tsunade nodded, “one that I hadn’t thought of. My point of needing your viewpoint has just been proven. Thank you, Neji, for being willing to help.”_

“ _Guess that means I’ve got to chip in too, huh?” Shikamaru sighed. “Fine, I’m in.”_

_T_ _he Hokage smiled. “Good. We don’t have much to go on. Itachi probably won’_ _t_ _be giving us any answers either. We’re going to have to go about this the hard way and start from scratch so to speak. As such, I’ve got separate tasks assigned and ready for each of you. Sakura, I want you to go through the hospital records and under the pretense of researching medical information on Itachi, I want you to search for the records of any of the Uchiha clan that dates a year before the massacre. If anyone gets suspicious, you can claim that you’re searching for some genetic disease or some such nonsense and show them my seal, which is on this paper along with those instructions. That should be enough to silence anyone.”_

_Sakura nodded and accepted the paper that was handed to you. “Yes, Hokage.”_

“ _Neji, your task will be a bit harder to carry out,” Tsunade stated, turning to face him. “I want you to go to the_ _A_ _rchive_ _Library_ _and look for anything that falls within half a year before and after the massacre that involves any_ _one_ _of the Uchiha clan. Missions, reports, journals, anything._ _You will bring those that you find to me. If the ANBU guarding that room give you any trouble, you will show them this seal. It should prove to them that you are there for me. Go in with the explanation that you are researching anything you can find on Itachi. If they_ _refuse to give in, go along with their wishes.”_

“ _Why would they try to hinder my search if I’m working for you?” Neji asked as he accepted the paper handed to him._

_The Hokage huffed with a scowl. “Not all of ANBU is completely loyal to me. There are a few that don’t believe I should be Hokage. They will follow any orders that I give them, but only if it coincides with the interests of the village elders.”_

_Shikamaru hummed thoughtfully. “You don’t want the elders involved.”_

_Tsunade snorted. “Absolutely not. They defy me whenever they can and any time I bring up an old issue, such as this one, they insist that there is nothing for me to gain by learning about it.”_

_With a frown, Neji carefully folded the paper in his hands. “That’s almost as if they had something they felt they needed to hide.”_

“ _My thoughts exactly,” the Hokage said, sitting back in her chair. “Naruto, your part in this mission will be to go to the area of the village where the Uchiha grounds were located and bring back anything you find that might be related to the massacre. There’s bound to be something that someone missed and after the recent...changes to the village_ _layout_ _, I’m sure some of it has been unearthed. Shikamaru, part of your task is to accompany him.”_

“ _And the rest of it?” the Nara asked, though it looked as if he regretted asking._

“ _I want statistics,” Tsunade answered. “Probabilities of Itachi or any Uchiha being able to commit the massacre on their own, ideas of how the massacre went completely unnoticed by the village until Itachi was long gone, the works. Anything you can think of, I want it.”_

“ _Alright,” Shikamaru grumbled, clearly not thrilled with what he was being asked to do._

“ _Despite how high in security I need this mission to be,” the Hokage went on, making sure that all four were paying attention to her, “it does not take priority over any other missions you receive. I have to keep you four busy to make it look as if I don’t have you doing something else. I want this done as quietly as possible and I don’t need anyone poking their nose into this. If the elders become suspicious, I have a feeling we’re going to find things much harder than they already are.”_

“ _So, just the four of us?” Shikamaru asked, glancing at his comrades._

“ _I intend to bring Kakashi on this mission as well,” Tsunade replied, “which is why I sent for him. He worked with Itachi when they were younger and so he’ll have valuable insight into Itachi’s character for your statistics, Shikamaru. He’s also one that I know I can trust to not go squealing to the elders. If any of you feel it is necessary, I will be making him the captain of this mission so you can report to him first. If he doesn’t agree to help us, then Shikamaru will be captain.”_

“ _Of course,” the Nara grumbled. “Anything else?”_

“ _This mission starts in two days, with the exception of searching into the medical records,” the Hokage answered. “Doing anything more today or tomorrow will immediately arouse suspicion. In addition to this, the four of you, Kakashi if he's willing, along with a few of my trusted ANBU, will take turns in guarding Itachi’s cell. Any questions? No? Then Naruto and Sakura, you’re dismissed. Shikamaru, Neji, I want a report of the patrol mission before you leave.”_

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Kakashi accepted,” Shikamaru said quietly, breaking Neji from his thoughts.

“Then things begin in two days,” he murmured, closing his eyes. “I might get an earlier start however. I take over for Sai tonight.”

The younger nin turned his head to look at him. “Do you have the energy for that? You used the Byakugan a lot today.”

Snorting, Neji grinned. “I will be fine, thank you. I’ve dealt with far worse.”

Shikamaru hummed softly. “Want me to leave so you can take a nap before you go?”

“That’s not necessary,” the Hyuuga stated. “There isn’t much time to really rest. A game of shogi, however, would be nice.”

“Why, you want to be beat again?” the younger nin asked with a chuckle, watching Neji from the corner of his eyes. The white eyes he’d come to enjoy were closed and a look of amusement had settled on his face. It made something stir in Shikamaru’s gut, something that made him inexplicably want to reach out and...well, he didn’t really know. Maybe touch the older nin’s cheek? Stroke it with the back of his fingers? Or maybe he’d play with his hair. He understood where the urge came from, to do those things, but part of him also thought they were rather silly.

“I will win this time,” Neji replied, opening his eyes and turning to look at the Nara with a smile.

“Sure you will,” Shikamaru smirked, pushing himself up to a sitting position. “Get your board.”

Several minutes later found the two settled on the floor, deep in thought as they played. Neji tried to keep his mind solely focused on the game, but it seemed to want to wander back to the mission they’d been assigned in secret. He’d always known that the massacre was a sensitive subject, that people didn’t like talking about. However, that lack of information or even the simplest rundown of the event had, at least at one point, seemed rather odd. Now that he was older, it wasn’t so much as odd as it was suspicious. To know there were others who thought the same way wasn’t exactly a comforting thought, but it did bring him some relief.

“You’re distracted,” Shikamaru stated after he’d moved a piece. “It’s showing.”

“You know where my mind is,” Neji said, studying the board. “Recent events are...making it hard to focus.”

“I get that,” the younger nin replied. “I’m distracted too.”

“You are?” Looking up, the Hyuuga raised a brow skeptically. It certainly wasn’t showing.

“We can’t discuss it here. You know that. We’d have to go somewhere else.”

“I know.”

“So let’s go elsewhere. Checkmate.”

Neji’s eyes widened and surveyed the board before he frowned. “You purposely allowed my distraction to win you the game, didn’t you?”

Smirking, Shikamaru got to his feet. “I’ll let you figure that out. Come on. Let’s go for a walk.”

Glaring lightly, the older nin huffed as he followed after his friend. They left the Hyuuga compound and went out to the nearest woods, casually talking about things as they would have done before. It wasn’t rare to see the two of them spending time together so neither was concerned about raising any suspicions. They wandered for a while before Shikamaru stopped in the center of a small clearing, sending Neji a simple look. Neji used his Byakugan to scan the area and once he was sure that no one was nearby or following them, he nodded. For now they were safe to speak.

“So, what are your thoughts?” Shikamaru asked, settling on the ground and leaning back on his hands.

“Well, there are several,” Neji answered, “but the main one is...the possibility of what exactly the elders are hiding. Like a guilty party.”

“Don’t dwell on it,” the Nara stated, looking up at the sky.

“But what if there’s something else they’ve hidden? Or what if they haven’t hidden anything at all?” Frowning, the older nin stared at the ground. “What if the Hokage’s feeling is...unfounded?”

“Neji,” Shikamaru sighed, waiting till he had his friend’s attention before he continued. “Take a moment and think. We don’t need you flying into this like Lee would. Tsunade’s feeling isn’t unfounded. The lack of documents on the massacre is ridiculously suspicious. And even if it’s not the village elders, _someone_ is hiding something. Something they don’t want anyone to know. The Hokage wants to know why and what it is. We’re helping her, as loyal shinobi to Konoha. Whoever is hiding this information is doing it either for the sake of the village or for themselves. Which one is more likely?”

With a small nod of his head, Neji let out a soft breath and relaxed a little. The answer to that question was very clear. If it had been for the village’s sake, there would have been more information for Tsunade to read. Enough that she or any future Hokage wouldn’t feel a need to investigate the issue. Still classified and top secret, of course, but there certainly would have been more than what she’d found. “It...still bothers me.”

For a moment, the Nara didn’t say anything. When he finally moved, he motioned for Neji to come sit by him. He waited patiently for the other to do so, quiet until Neji was fully settled. “Can’t say I’m too fond of it either, but not all missions are something we do because we like them. I don’t always like being one of the first that people go to for strategies and plans, but I do it because I know they’ll be useful for everyone in the village, shinobi and civilians alike.”

Neji grinned lightly. “Something we all appreciate. Thank you for the encouragement, Shikamaru. Something of this secrecy... I’ve never been a part of a mission like this before.”

Shikamaru let out a soft breath. “If you ever feel like you’re unstable, talk to me. This isn’t going to be easy for any of us, but as someone who comes from one of the oldest clans of Konoha this can’t be easy to swallow. Especially as the Hyuuga are more focused about the village’s well being than most. What we find could potentially do some damage.”

“I have a feeling that we’re going to find more than we want to,” the older nin said softly, as he turned his eyes up to the evening sky. Night was rolling in and the stars were starting to appear. Relaxing like this was rare for him. Yes, he spent time with Shikamaru and that could often be considered relaxing, but it wasn’t like this. It was so comfortable that if he didn’t have somewhere he needed to go, he would have been tempted to stay out late and just watch the night sky fully unveil itself. Even the thought of falling asleep, with Shikamaru nearby, was more appealing than he would have expected.

“You’d better get going,” Shikamaru said softly after several moments of silence had passed. “Can’t keep Sai waiting.”

“Hm,” Neji nodded, slowly getting to his feet. “Good luck.”

With a smirk, the young man gave him a light wave. He didn’t need to ask whether Neji had been speaking of their new mission or not. “Same to you. You’re going to have to do more search work than I will.”

Shaking his head, the Hyuuga grinned. “I’m not the one partnered with Naruto.”

Shikamaru closed his eyes and groaned. “Don’t remind me...”

Neji chuckled before he began to walk back towards the village, unable to hide his amusement. Once he managed to hide it and replace it with a more neutral look, he made his way through the trees towards the Intelligence Division. It wouldn’t be very proper of him if he was late to guard duty and even if Sai was only going to go home and sleep, he didn’t want to keep the other nin waiting for his reprieve. Of course, there was also the Hyuuga reputation to maintain and he would no doubt hear everything the elders of the clan thought about him if he was late. Not that it bothered him much, but he’d rather avoid that if he could.

As he made his way up to the doors of the new Intelligence Division (it was somehow even more intimidating than it had been before), he took in the size of the building. It wasn’t as large as it had been, but there was room for it to grow when it needed to. Right now, to his knowledge, there weren’t many people being held here and he had to wonder if the cells were adequately equipped to hold one of Itachi’s strength. Of course, it wasn’t his place to monitor such things and right now, all he needed to do was report for guard duty.

He made his way to the front desk, reporting in to the guard sitting there. The kunoichi gathered several bits of information from him, as well as asked him several questions that make sure he was who he said he was. It seemed rather long to him, but he supposed that when you had dangerous rogue ninja within one’s custody, it was better to be excessively safe than sorry. Once he passed, the woman excused herself for a moment, claiming that she was going to get him an escort to lead him to Itachi’s holding place.

Once alone, he let his mind wander to his future task as he waited. The Archive Library was one of the few structures in Konoha that hadn’t been destroyed by Pain, thankfully, so he didn’t have to worry about something being lost forever. Yes, he had the Hokage’s permission and seal to do his part of the mission they’d been given, but he knew he was going to need to be smooth in delivering his reason as to why he was there. He doubted that anyone siding with the village elders would be content with a simple sentence that he was there on the Hokage’s orders. He’d have to consider his words carefully to appear as if he were looking for things on Itachi specifically.

If the village council was behind this lack of information on the massacre, they would want Itachi dead as soon as possible. If it meant hastening the process, he might be given more free reign.

Of course, his mind then wandered to the man in question. He supposed he’d learn for himself in time, but he had to wonder if Sasuke’s pardon was really all that Itachi wanted. Why would someone, who had murdered their clan and left only their younger brother alive, want to gain his pardon? From what he had heard over the years, he had been under the impression that Itachi had wanted Sasuke to grow stronger to get his revenge. Yet the answer to his simple question of ‘why’ remained elusive. He simply couldn’t think of a reason.

Would they find that out with this mission? Would they gain insight to the man’s thoughts? Did he _want_ to gain that insight?

He was broken from his thoughts when the kunoichi (he believed she had called herself Komachi) returned, a member of ANBU following after her. He was instructed to follow and not wander around before the ANBU began to walk away. He expressed his thanks to Komachi and then followed after the quiet shinobi. He let out a silent breath as he did so, forcing himself to relax. His muscles were too tense. Being too tense would hinder his ability to do as he had been asked. Right now, that was guarding the cell where Itachi was being held. Everything else, for the time being, he needed to not think about. There would be other days in the future to do so.

Not only that, but he needed to have more faith and trust in the Hokage. Tsunade was an excellent leader and she had done marvelously in maintaining order before and after Pain’s attack. She charged forward for the good of the village and the fact that she felt a need to look up the massacre wasn’t something he should question. Not when he had, and was still having, similar thoughts. He needed to do as he’d been ordered and help her in the best way that he could, however she saw fit.

It grew easier and easier to clear his mind as he followed after the ANBU nin. There were guards nearly everywhere, tighter than he had possibly imagined. Considering who it was they were holding, however, it made sense that Ibiki was taking extra precautions. He was led down a small hallway before they reached a set of stairs. Everything was very brightly lit, though it was growing darker the further down they went. How was it that a building so new could feel as if it had been around for decades, as if it had hundreds of stories to tell?

At the bottom of the stairs was a single, narrow hallway and at the end of it, a single metal door. The door itself, however, had no handles. In fact, it didn’t even look like it was meant to be opened. The ANBU nin he was with turned to him then and taught him the seals that would open and close the door, expressing the importance that such things remain secret and that if a leak was led back to him, there would be severe consequences. Neji understood the warning, expressed that he did, and practiced the seals before opening the door (it sank into the floor to his surprise). Once it was open, however, he realized he was alone, as if he’d wandered down this way on his own. It was amazing how quickly ANBU could disappear...

He stepped inside, sealed the door shut, and then made his way into a surprisingly lit area. There were two large cells, that he could see, each one walled in with several inches of concrete. It effectively blocked any prisoners in each of the cells from seeing each other, with the exception of a small, barred window like opening in the center of the wall. There wasn’t much on the inside of them either. He could see a bed, a sink, and a small table. Each of these were bolted and sealed down to the floor or the wall and it would be incredibly difficult for anyone to loosen them and try to use anything in there as a weapon or as a means to escape. It hardly looked inviting, but Neji was sure that was intentional.

Of course, in one of these cells, a lone figure sat on the bed inside. Itachi’s eyes had been covered with a sealed blindfold, no doubt to try and hinder his Sharingan. His hands were locked in metal stocks, clearly keeping his hands far enough apart to disable him from creating any seals without being uncomfortable as well. In addition to this, each hand was strapped in what appeared to be a solid metal glove. With them on, Neji doubted he could move any of his fingers at all. He had to wonder if any of his previous bindings had left marks on Itachi’s skin.

Finally, at the center of his neck was a seal that the Hyuuga knew of, but hadn’t ever seen in person before. The seal itself was to bind the chakra of the one sealed. As long as Itachi had that seal on his neck, chakra use of any kind would be practically impossible and, from the rumors Neji had heard, would cause a pain just as debilitating as his own seal. He’d had it activated once, back when he’d been far more openly rebellious against the main house and his uncle. That was not a pain he’d wish on anyone.

As he walked towards the cell, he noticed what looked like a few black strips of fabric wrapped around random points of Itachi’s body. He had no idea what they were for. As he turned and approached Sai, he was surprised to see Kakashi standing there as well. The Copy nin, however, didn’t acknowledge his presence. Instead his focus was entirely on the cell in front of him, his arms folded almost casually across his chest. If he hadn’t been able to the see the slight rise and fall of the older shinobi’s chest, he might have believed it was a statue of the man instead of the actual person.

“I’m here to relieve you, Sai,” Neji stated, focusing on his task.

“The Hokage informed me,” Sai nodded. “He hasn’t moved since they placed him there. As a precaution, however, I’ve been told to pass this onto whoever is next to watch over him.” He reached inside one of his pouches, pulling out a black device of some kind.

“What is it?” Neji asked, holding out his hand as the younger nin handed the thing to him.

“If he starts to show any signs of trying to get out of his cell, you simply need to push the button in the center,” Sai explained. “That remote will then signal for a shock to be sent to the black straps on his body. It should render him unconscious after that.”

Ninja or not, Neji stared down at the little device in his hand with mild shock. He could understand why the Intelligence division was taking such precautions with the Uchiha, but he had to admit that he felt it was excessive to send that much electricity through the man’s system simply by pressing a button. Still, he would push it if he felt there was a need for it, though he sincerely hoped that wouldn’t happen. “I see... Thank you for explaining it to me.”

“You’re welcome,” Sai replied, smiling slightly. “And I was told by Lady Tsunade that we don’t need to worry about Kakashi. He’s been given her permission to be here.” With a nod of his head, he waited until Neji was in position before he left for the door, looking back only once before leaving.

Things were silent for a moment as Neji looked at the remote in his hand. Frowning, he carefully set it on a nearby table, choosing to ignore its existence. He didn’t need something like that. He could knock someone out with his Jyuuken, thank you very much. Precaution or not, it seemed a little overkill to put that much restraint on a single person. He was pulled from his thoughts when the man next to him moved, Kakashi letting his arms drop to his sides as he stood up straight with a soft sigh.

When he spoke, it was softly and aimed directly at the younger nin. “You’ve been told?”

Neji paused for a moment before he gave a very light nod of his head, speaking just as quietly. “Yes. Shikamaru informed me.”

Kakashi hummed, tilting his head to look at him. “How are you feeling?”

 _He’s perceptive, though I should have expected that_ , the younger nin thought to himself, letting his eyes float around the room. “I’m...a bit bothered by the idea.”

“That something isn’t being shared with us? That we’re missing something about them? About _him_?”

“Hm.”

“Understandable,” the Copy nin stated, turning his attention back to the man in the cell. “We’ve just been told that there’s more to this than what we know. Who knows what we’ll find.”

Neji was silent, his eyes also falling on Itachi, who seemed to be meditating, despite all the restrictive devices he had on him. “You knew him before. I realize that the Hokage will be asking you this in the future, but...what was he like?”

Kakashi took a moment, though his gaze seemed to soften as he reminisced about that time in his life. “He was brilliant and highly skilled. Never questioned his orders unless he couldn’t see how it would benefit the village. Everything he did was for Konoha. He had pride in his clan, just like anyone else, but he never let that get in the way of working with his team or completing his mission.” Neji didn’t see the small upturn of the Copy nin’s mouth beneath his mask or the way his gaze saddened. He did, however, catch the softening of his tone. “He also...appeared to love Sasuke more than anything else. He did whatever he could to spend time with him.”

The Hyuuga frowned. Criminals were known to be good actors, yes, but Kakashi was incredibly intelligent and could see people for what they were. Everything he’d just said... “That doesn’t sound like someone...”

With a shake of his head, the Copy nin shared his agreement. “It doesn’t. He’s saved my life before so I feel obligated to help in whatever way I can to find the truth.”

“Do you believe...that he’s not entirely at fault then?” Neji asked, looking up at the older man in slight shock. That wasn’t something he had even thought of yet. If Itachi hadn’t done it to test his skills...what other reason would he have had?

“He can’t run away from what he did,” Kakashi replied, “but if we can find-”

The conversation halted immediately as the sounds of the door’s seal being released reached their ears. Neji turned to see Tsunade marching in, followed closely by Sakura after she had sealed the door shut again. He was relieved that it hadn’t been anyone else and he also reprimanded himself for not double checking to make sure that Kakashi was the only one nearby. Even if they had been talking softly enough between themselves, he could have blown the whole mission before it had even started. He needed to be better about when and where he spoke about this mission.

Tsunade didn’t wait for her protégé before she released the seal on the door to Itachi’s cell, marching right in as soon as it was open. Neji heard a soft snort of amusement from the man standing next to him, but otherwise the two of them remained silent. Should they go in and stand by her side? The Hokage wasn’t a pushover by any means, but Itachi wasn’t someone to underestimate either. Sakura rushed to follow her mentor, catching up just as Tsunade had stopped to stand in front of the bed Itachi sat on.

“What the hell are those?” the Hokage growled, staring at the black bands.

“Shock collars, essentially,” Kakashi answered, “only with a little more shock than normal ones, if you get what I mean.”

Itachi seemed to perk up at hearing the Copy nin’s voice, but otherwise didn’t move from his spot.  Neji only then realized that Kakashi had been hiding his chakra. Had he not wanted to be noticed? Tsunade, however, scowled viciously and turned to look at the said man. “T he remote? ”

The Copy nin casually pointed to the device on the table. “Left in the current guard’s care.”

It was hard not to cower when those fierce eyes turned to him, but Neji knew that his Hokage wasn’t upset with him. He wasn’t in trouble...he hoped. “Neji, turn the remote all the way off. This is not necessary. I’m removing these bands right now.”

“Ibiki would say otherwise, Hokage,” Kakashi said playfully, watching as the Hyuuga did as he was told.

“Ibiki isn’t a medical ninja,” Tsunade countered, “and doesn’t know that something with a shock like that will send our captive straight to the grave if it gets set off.”

“What do you mean?” Sakura asked, looking alarmed as her mentor proceed to remove the shock bands.

“Itachi,” Tsunade said, pausing only until she’d removed all of the bands, “how long have you been sick? And you will give me an answer because keeping you alive is a priority.”

“I have been ill for at least two years,” Itachi answered. “I have been taking medications to...prolong my life as much as possible.”

“Of course you have,” the Hokage grumbled. “Do you know what it is that you have?”

The Uchiha shook his head. “Any doctor who would see me was not willing to treat me long enough to give me a  full  diagnosis.”

Tsunade let out a deep sigh. “Then we are extremely lucky that you’re still alive because if they’d given you the wrong medicine, you’d be dead. Sakura.”

Sakura snapped to attention. “Ah, yes?”

The Hokage turned to face her. “After we’re done here, I want you to go to the hospital and gather everything we need to treat microscopic polyangiitis. It’s going to be that and a lot of rest just to keep Itachi alive.”

Itachi spoke softly next, obviously a little stunned. “I will stay alive long enough to give you what information you need, Hokage. There is no need-”

“Shut up,” Tsunade interrupted, scowling. “Yes, as a leader of Konoha I realize I could do exactly that. However, there is more value you in keeping you alive for as long as possible. Curing you of this blasted disease is going to let me do that. You will accept these treatments whether you like it or not.”

Neji wondered if he imagined the upward twitch of Itachi’s lips as it happened so fast. Still the Uchiha merely nodded his head in response. “I am at your mercy, Hokage.”

With a snort, the Hokage smirked. “Glad you see it my way. Now, lay down on the floor and relax as much as possible. Sakura, guide him there and then stay on his left. Neji, get in here. I need your eyes.”

He almost sighed. Almost. Despite the protections in place, he wasn’t stupid and he still had a great amount of respect and fear for the skills of the man who was so easily obeying the Hokage’s orders. Nonetheless, he did as he’d been ordered, stepping inside of the cell and moving to the end of the bed where Tsunade had pointed. He noticed the minute tensing as he drew closer to Itachi, though it seemed more reflexive than conscious.  The Byakugan was just as feared as the Sharingan and clearly was something that not even an Uchiha would underestimate.

“Let’s get the easy part over with,” Tsunade said, sarcasm heavily dripping from her tone. “Neji, use your Byakugan. You’re going to be aiding us in where exactly we need to be focusing our chakra. Sakura, you’re going to create a chakra needle a small as you possibly can. We’re going to need to chip slowly at these blocks if we’re going to avoid any irreparable damage. Itachi, I have no idea if this is going to cause you any pain, but you _will_ tell me if you feel anything substantial, am I clear?”

“Perfectly, Hokage,” Itachi answered, his body relaxing as much as he could will it, despite the restrictive gear he was wearing.

“Good. Are you ready, Neji?”

With a nod, the Hyuuga activated his Byakugan, focusing sharply on the blocks he’d noticed before.

“Very well. Tell us exactly where to start.”

_ Here goes nothing _ . Neji breathed in deeply before he began, wondering not for the last time what he’d gotten himself mixed into. Today had been a very long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, whether this is new or old to you, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Tell me what you loved!


	5. Slight Inconveniences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to be said about this chapter. Kiba being a pain in the butt, the first signs of something actually happening between the two geniuses. Nothing major. haha
> 
> As before, I have left some terms used in Naruto in Japanese, due to how I feel that they add to the story/atmosphere of the Naruto universe. For those of you who watched the anime English dubbed, I am including a list of the Japanese and their translations here. I hope it helps!
> 
> Hakke hasangeki - Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher (this was an anime only move. It was not featured in the manga).
> 
> Happy reading everyone!

Several days had passed since Itachi had surrendered. The clearing of his chakra paths had gone exceptionally well. So much so that even Tsunade had walked away from the surgery with an accomplished grin.  Neji had been on guard duty twice since that day and a double check with his Byakugan, partially out of curiosity and also by order of the Hokage,  showed that  whatever had caused the block was not building up again. Where the Uchiha’s chakra was concerned, it was flowing normally and was no longer life threatening.

As for the illness, Tsunade had been quite strict with those of the Interrogation unit that due to how fragile his health really was, they were not allowed to take him for more than a few hours a day at the very most. Still, the process must have been brutal as for the last two times he’d been guarding the cell, Itachi had slept the entire time. Neji understood that not only was the man recovering from the interrogation sessions, but also from the illness that the Hokage had diagnosed. His body was finally having a chance to focus on healing.

Neji had asked Sakura about the disease shortly after that first day, wondering why Tsunade had given such strict instructions on the amount of time Interrogation had with the Uchiha. The medic nin had started giving him a lengthy description of the disease and what it did, but she had eventually settled on giving him a very basic rundown when it was clear that the medical lingo had gone over his head. Essentially, MPA (as she had described it) attacked several parts of the body at once and so Itachi was actually far weaker and in more pain than he appeared. Rest, proper medication, and healing with chakra were essential for him to get better.

It was amazing to him how concerned he was over the rogue nin’s well being, if not a little worrying. Neji was not one to sympathize with his enemy, but Itachi didn’t come across that way, despite all the terrible things he had done. He was extremely polite, never taunted his guards, complied so easily with what was asked of him. It was hard to see him as the criminal that everyone claimed him to be. Still, Neji did his duty, though he was beginning to wonder if he should speak to someone about how easily  this need to watch over the other man had come about.

Of course, any time that he had when he wasn’t sleeping, eating, training, or guarding the Uchiha's cell, was spent in the Archive Library.  The Hokage’s seal had granted him access to the basement of the library, a place where the  general  public wasn’t allowed. It had been quite intimidating at first, with the rows upon rows of cabinets and shelves towering above him. He hadn’t been sure where to start and if he was  _ ever _ going to find anything. The Byakugan, however, was quite a boon in this case as it allowed him to search the entire basement for the exact time frame that he’d been ordered to search through.

H e started at the beginning o f six months before the massacre , reading over old missions and police reports that were filed by  or involved anyone of the Uchiha clan. It wasn’t terribly exciting reading, but Neji focused on his task, not wanting to miss anything that might aid them in what it was the Hokage was trying to find. There were journals too, and he felt a bit guilty reading the personal thoughts of those who had passed away. He did notice that some pages were missing from the journals, hastily torn out, but nothing from the previous entries made it seem as if anything important had been lost. Still, it was  noticeable enough that he made a mental note to share that with Kakashi or Tsunade.

Other than this, however, he wasn’t finding much that could be considered as a tie to the massacre.

It seemed that the rest of his team was having the same luck as no one had turned up anything. No clues, no hints of where to look next, nothing. They were aware that ten years had passed since the incident and that certainly had an effect on what information was kept. However, the fact that no one had found _anything_ yet only made Tsunade more suspicious and more impatient for information. Even Kakashi was showing more interest in the mission. At the moment, however, it seemed that they only way they’d get information would be a direct confession of the events from Itachi. Despite how easily he answered the questions about Akatsuki and any other criminal activity that he knew of, the massacre was something he refused to speak of. Even Inoichi’ s skills hadn’t been able to access that part of his mind.

As the next week started, Sakura was the only one who had been able to present what she’d found. The medical reports of several of the Uchiha members no doubt gave Tsunade a glimpse into the psyche of those at the time, but there really wasn’t more than that. Even Sasuke’s own mental check up and examination after the massacre revealed very little. The Hokage had been so irritated with the brief reports that she had to wonder just how many people were involved in this information wipe out. What was it that someone was trying to hide?

Neji was about to ask for a break from his searching (the lack of results was starting to get to him) when a mission call came for him a couple of days after Sakura’s find. Regardless of what it was, he was relieved for the change and wasted no time in getting to the Hokage’s office.  Shikamaru was already there waiting and he nodded politely when his friend casually waved at his entrance. Shino arrived not much longer after himself, with Kiba in tow. He took a mental breath as they lined up in front of the Hokage’s desk. He had no qualms with Kiba and he honestly thought he was rather skilled. Kiba, however, didn’t seem to feel the same about him and had often tried to provoke him into a fight.

“This is an A-rank mission,” Tsunade said once everyone was standing at attention. “We’ve received several reports that towns along our border with the Land of Rivers are being attacked. We know very little about the ones who are attacking. They seem to use ninjutsu so we might be dealing with rogue nin, but so far they don’t seem to be attached to or a part of Akatsuki.”

“Though you’re not dismissing the idea that they possibly could be,” Shikamaru stated.

“Exactly,” the Hokage nodded. “The attackers are merciless. Anyone that gets in the way is killed, regardless of whether they’re shinobi or civilian, young or old.”

“Tch,” Kiba frowned, his eyes narrowing.

“Do we know the objective of these attacks?” Shino asked.

Frowning, Tsunade shook her head. “No. Even though the towns are in shambles after the attacks, the criminals take nothing. They leave all the valuables, food, and anything else that you might think they’d be after behind. At this point, I’m inclined to think they either are simply wanting to create chaos or they’re trying to get someone’s attention.”

Neji hummed softly. “The question is who if that is the case.”

The Hokage nodded before letting out a soft sigh. “I want to make it absolutely clear to all of you that if Akatsuki is involved, you are to  _ not _ engage them. Retreat and call for reinforcements. I can’t afford to lose anyone since we’re on the verge of a war. Normally this mission would be  placed further down the list , but the  daimyou himself came to me with this one.  Take any and all precautions, is that understood?” When she received four nods of the head, she lifted the scroll in front of her towards the shadow nin. “Good. Shikamaru, you’re the leader of the group. Any information we have is in this scroll. I want the four of you on your way within  an hour . Dismissed.”

F orty-five minutes later found Neji waiting at the village gates with Shino, double checking his pack to make sure he had all that he  felt he  needed. The bug nin seemed content with the silence and Neji wasn’t in any hurry to break it either. He’d always thought that Shino was a little hard to talk to. As he finished his check and placed his  p ack on his belt, Kiba showed up, riding on Akamaru’s back. There was a huge grin on his face, which Neji took as a good sign, and he jumped of f of his nin dog once they stopped at the gate. It would be an understatement to say he looked excited.

“Man, I’ve needed a mission like this!” Kiba said, his smile growing. “All this preparing for war stuff is boring.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Shino stated quietly. “Your eagerness might lead to failure.”

“Relax,” the dog nin sighed, still grinning. “I won’t lose focus. It would be better if Hinata was here instead of Neji though.”

Neji mentally sighed.  _ Here we go _ ... “Hinata is currently running through some drills with the medic ninja in preparation for the war, as well as learning some  more  healing. If the Hokage had felt that she was available, I’m sure she would have assigned Hinata instead of myself. She does, after all, know how to work with the two of you best.”

“I doubt that.” Shikamaru made his appearance, leveling Kiba with a stare just as he was about to speak. “Hinata is talented and she’s grown a lot. However, her style is more defensive than offensive and in this mission, we’re going to need offensive skills.”

“What do you mean?” Kiba asked, glowering over the fact that he’d been stopped.

The Nara rolled his head casually. “The scroll said that despite the fact that these towns were being attacked, most of the ninjutsu that was seen was defensive. Pit defense against defense and you’re going to get nowhere. Shino and I aren’t exactly offensive, but we can at least cover the middle ground. You and Neji are the offensive force of our team, with Neji able to switch to full defense if we need him to. Hinata could be offensive, I know, but she simply doesn’t have the force or power behind her strikes that Neji does. In that sense, he still outranks her.”

Neji gave his friend a small smile before he pushed forward. “What else do we know?”

Shikamaru nodded. “Survivors say there’s four of them. Three create a barrier while the fourth does most of the attacking. One report says the barrier is earth based, but there’s no guarantee that’s the case. Regardless, this is another reason why we need Neji and not Hinata.”

Kiba blinked. “Huh? Why?”

Shino hummed thoughtfully. “Hakke hasangeki.”

With a pleased grin, the Nara nodded again. “Exactly.  If the barrier is in any way chakra based, Neji will be able to find the weak point and attack from there. Hinata doesn’t have the force needed to do something like that. Though we have to keep in mind that all we really know is that there  _ is  _ a barrier.”

“If you say so,” Kiba frowned. “I still think Hinata could do it.”

“Kiba,” Shikamaru sighed, closing his eyes for only a moment, “Neji’s strength is necessary for this mission. I don’t care what qualms you have with him, but you need to forget them for the time being. We’re going to need teamwork to win this.”

“He’s right,” Shino added. “Our enemies already have a strong sense of teamwork in place.”

“I know that!” Kiba snapped, glaring. “I may not be as smart as the rest of you, but I’m not Naruto.”

“His sense of teamwork has gotten better,” Neji countered, though it probably wouldn’t help the situation much, “but your comparison is easy to understand.”

“We’re heading out to the town furthest west,” the Nara said, effectively cutting off whatever words the dog nin might have. “We’ll travel in a line formation. Kiba up front, followed by Shino, then myself, with Neji bringing up the rear. If all goes as planned, we’ll reach it by nightfall. Questions? Good. Let’s go.”

Kiba grumbled, but took the front position, Akamaru close on his heels as they started out. There was little conversation between them at first, only the occasional grumble from their lead man. Neji ignored it. He was aware of why the dog nin didn’t care for him. Kiba was fiercely loyal to his teammates and the way that Neji had treated Hinata when they had been younger apparently hadn’t ever been forgiven. His relationship with Hinata had improved drastically since then, but it seemed to be something that Kiba was clearly choosing to ignore. Or at least, he didn’t want to acknowledge it.

“Neji.”

Pushing himself just fast enough to catch up, he made himself easily viewable to his friend. “Shikamaru?”

For a moment, the younger nin didn’t say anything, just focused on moving forward. “He’s not who Naruto used to be, but I want you to keep an eye on Kiba. We don’t need him rushing off to do something heroic or dramatic, just to show off. Whenever you’re around, he tries harder and usually not in a good way.”

Neji hummed softly. “You mean he tries to ‘out do’ me.”

Shikamaru nodded. “That’s a good way to put it. I have a feeling he’ll do the same this time around if we’re not careful. I need his focus on the goal of this mission. Almost more than I need your strength.”

With a deep exhale, the Hyuuga huffed. “Any suggestions?”

“I’m trying to figure that out,” the Nara scowled. “Kiba’s almost as bad as Naruto when it comes to firecracker stunts. It’s hard to plan for.”

“You’ll complain about this to the Hokage later no doubt,” Neji stated with a smirk.

“You can bet on it,” Shikamaru grumbled, which pulled a chuckle from the older nin. “I’ll let you know if I think of anything, but I wanted you to be thinking about it too, see if there was anything that you could come up with. We’ll discuss it more when we arrive.”

With a single nod, Neji fell back, knowing that his friend was done talking specifically to him for the time being. Occasionally during their trip the shadow nin would shout out orders or a change in their direction, but for the most part conversation was kept to a minimum between all of them. There wasn’t a need to alert anyone to what it was they were doing. Just as the sun had set, they arrived at the edge of the town. The town leader welcome them once he knew where they were from and made sure that they were given comfortable rooms to stay in at the single inn that was still standing.

The place only had two open rooms to spare and so the team split, Kiba and Shino in one while Shikamaru and Neji took the other. It had taken Kiba ten minutes to convince the owner that Akamaru wasn’t going to shed a ridiculous amount of hair and that he was very well trained. It was the fact that Akamaru was a shinobi trained dog that won the man over, as Kiba had convinced him of the extra security a dog like his could offer. Neji doubted it would have worked had the town been standing as it had a few days ago. Nonetheless, if Kiba was kept content, chances were he wouldn’t try to pick any unnecessary fights.

Especially with him.

While the rest of his team headed up to the rooms, Neji stayed behind to talk to the town’s leader, to learn what kind of security system they’d set up and possibly any information about the assailants that they didn’t already know. Once satisfied, he thanked the man and then made his way up to the room that he and Shikamaru would be sharing. He wasn’t expecting to open the door and find Kiba there. Shikamaru was sitting on both of the futons in the room, glaring at Kiba who was returning the stare with just as much power.

“Kiba, he’s a dog. He’ll be find sleeping on the floor for one night,” the Nara stated. “If the inn doesn’t have any extra futons to spare, I don’t see why I should give you one of ours. That will mean one of us ends up sleeping on the floor.”

“Tch, as if Neji needs a futon,” Kiba argued with a snarl. “He’s probably used to sleep on the floor with as stiff as he is. I doubt he’d mind.”

“Enough, Kiba. You need to stop treating Neji like he’s inhuman,” Shikamaru snapped. “If you keep this up, I will write to the Hokage and have her send someone else to replace you.” The statement made Neji pause just inside the door. Shikamaru had said that he needed Kiba on this mission, needed his skills. Was he giving the dog nin an empty threat to make him back down? Even if he was, if Kiba didn’t back down then they were stuck until the swap happened. It would take precious time away from what they really needed to focus on.

“Give him one of the futons, Shikamaru,” Neji stated in the silence, pulling the attention of both nin his way. He was tired and right now any confrontation was bound to make him snap. Considering that his friend wanted or needed Kiba to work willingly with him, he definitely wanted to avoid that. “Leave the blankets if you would, Kiba. I’ll be fine on the floor. We’ve all dealt with worse.”

“Neji-” Shikamaru started, only to stop when he shook his head. It made the Nara frown.

“Seriously?” Kiba asked, eyes wide before a grin split across his face. “Thanks! I’ll get Akamaru to thank you too!”

“While the thought is appreciated, there isn’t a need for that,” Neji replied. “We need him rested just as much as we do you. If it’s for the sake of our mission, I will be fine sleeping on the floor. Though I would like to go to sleep now if you wouldn’t mind.”

K iba didn’t say another word. He merely pulled one of the futons out from underneath Shikamaru, who grunted angrily at being moved from his spot. As soon as he had it in hand, the dog nin was running back towards his own room, flashing a grin towards Neji. If he hadn’t been paying attention, he might have thought the grin was one out of glee, as if Kiba was pleased with the fact that he’d be sleeping on the floor. However, he’d spent enough time around Hinata and her teammates to know that the grin had been one of gratitude, as strange as that might sound.

Once he was sure that Kiba was back in his room, he closed the door  to their room  gently, unable to stop one of the muscles in his arms from twitching.  Sighing softly, he locked the door before turning back towards the center of their room. He should have heeded his uncle’s warning this morning about training to o much. He felt more tired now than he had in a long time.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Shikamaru was frowning when he looked his way. “Akamaru would have been perfectly fine on the floor. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where he ends up sleeping anyway.”

“You wanted Kiba to be agreeable,” Neji countered. “I simply went with the decision that would make that more likely. It’s unlikely he would have let your decision rest peacefully. Perhaps he’ll be a little bit more easier to manage now.”

“True as that may be, you’re going to get awful kinks in your back if you sleep on the floor,” his friend argued. “I need you fluid in a fight, not tensing because of a stiff muscle.”

“The same could be said of Akamaru,” he replied. “As I said before, I’ve had worse sleeping conditions. I’ll be fine.”

“Then I’ll-”

“We need your mind to be fluid more than our muscles. No, you won’t be sleeping on the floor.”

With a dissatisfied half frown, Shikamaru merely watched as Neji walked towards the blankets that had been left behind,  clearly intent on grabbing a set to lay out on the floor. Just as he was about to lay them out, the younger nin spoke.

“Let’s share.”

Neji paused, blinking before he lifted his gaze to meet with his friend’s. “What?”

“Let’s share this futon,” Shikamaru repeated calmly. “It’s big enough that we both could fit on it, though it’ll be a little bit of a tight fit. With the blankets, we won’t even have to worry about touching each other.”

“I’m not afraid to touch you, Shikamaru,” he said blandly.

“Not my point,” the shadow nin stated with a smirk. “You’ll avoid sleeping on the floor and I’ll be assured that you’ll have no stiff muscles. Seems to work out in my head.”

For a moment, Neji said nothing, still a little stunned at the suggestion. Sharing a bed? With Shikamaru? Surely that wouldn’t be as comfortable for the Nara compared to if he’d had the futon by himself. “You don’t have to go this far.”

Shrugging, Shikamaru tilted his head slightly. “I know. I’ve already stated my reasons why though.”

Eyeing the futon that his friend was sitting on, Neji looked at the width of it. It certainly was large enough that the two of them could fit on it, though they would be a little cramped.  Not that he minded that much, really. Of course, he hadn’t shared a  singular  sleeping space with another person in  _many_ years. If he remembered correctly, the last person had been his father. Still, he was comfortable with the idea of sharing a futon with Shikamaru, though he really didn’t think it was necessary. He really would be fine on the floor.

As if he sensed Neji’s indecision, Shikamaru got off the futon he was sitting on, pulling Neji from his thoughts.  Without a word he spread it out, grabbing two pillows next and laying them  next to each other at the top. Once they were settled in place, the Nara moved to lay down on one side, as if to show the older nin that there was plenty of room for him. Had it been anyone else, the Hyuuga would have smacked them across the head. However, Shikamaru never did anything that he’d consider wasteful, so this was, on his part, a practical move.

L etting out a sharp huff, Neji walked over to the futon, snapping the blanket in his hands as best he could before lifting it up so it fell over Shikamaru. He didn’t even pause to see the amused and pleased look on his friend’s face as he walked back to the  folded blankets to grab another one. He laid it out like he had the first, only this time it was on ‘his’ side of the bedding. When it was clear that Shikamaru was ready to settle down for the night (his shadows had moved his things over against a wall), he made a point of walking around the room, turning off the lights and making sure that their door was locked. He then checked the windows, making sure that they were secure and that they would hear if someone tried to get in.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were avoiding me,” the younger nin teased. Neji didn’t need any light to know there was a smirk sitting on the Nara’s face.

“I’m simply making sure we’ll be safe,” Neji replied calmly, walking away from the windows. “I’d rather not be caught off guard during the night.”

“Do you do this at home?” The yawn that accompanied the question was so undeniably his friend that he almost grinned.

“No. You know as well as I do that the Hyuuga lands are guarded tightly by our clan. It is difficult to get past the Byakugan.” He paused as he stopped at ‘his’ side of the futon, staring down at the Nara’s silhouette in the dark. He knew he was hesitating, not sure he wanted to cross the boundary that was there. He always felt relaxed around Shikamaru, that was never in question. However, the closest they’d ever been to sleeping together had been on a hill and they’d been at least an arm’s length away from each other then.

“I won’t bite, Neji,” Shikamaru said, sounding amused.

Neji nearly bristled at the comment. “Shikamaru-”

The Nara’s chuckle cut off whatever he was going to say. “Look, just lay down. We need sleep. If it’ll make you more comfortable, I’ll grab another blanket and place it between us.”

If the room hadn’t been dark, Neji was sure his unimpressed stare would have only made his friend laugh harder. “That hardly acts like a strong barrier. Nor is that necessary.” He knelt down, lifting his blankets and crawling under them. “ Let’s just go to sleep.” 

Turning to lay on his side, he closed his eyes and tried to focus on doing just that. There was silence between them then, though both of them know the other was still awake. He took in a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly to try and relax his mind and body. Still, he was worried about what might happen during the night. The thoughts running through his head made it hard to truly get comfortable. His eyes snapped open and he nearly jumped away from the futon when a hand gently grasped his shoulder.

“Relax, Neji,” Shikamaru said softly, an edge of concern in his voice. “You’re so tense. Do I really make you that uncomfortable?”

Sighing heavily, he shook his head. “No. I’m... I haven’t shared a bed with anyone since I was a child. It’s something I’m not used to.”

“I’m not going to do anything.”

“I know that. What if I do?”

Blinking, Shikamaru pushed himself up as he processed the statement. “You think you might do something in your sleep?”

Neji frowned. “I don’t know what I do in my sleep, Shikamaru, if anything at all. I’ve never had to worry about it before. For all I know I might talk in my sleep.”

Grinning slightly at the Hyuuga's concern, the younger nin gave his shoulder another squeeze. “Go to sleep, Neji.”

“Didn’t you hear-”

“Even if you were to attack me in your sleep, I wouldn’t hold it against you. At least you’re not Lee so you won’t be training.”

Neji let out a breath of amusement, letting his eyes fall shut. “True.”

Shikamaru laid back down on the futon with a soft puff of breath. “Go to sleep.”

It took a moment, but Neji took a few more deep breaths, relieved that Shikamaru seemed to not think any possible unknown sleep behaviors were anything to worry about. He was silently grateful as well, that his friend had offered to share the futon. He might not mind sleeping on the floor, but that didn’t mean he liked it. As he lay there, letting his mind wander, he found his earlier concerns floating away. The younger nin had that effect on him. One he had come to truly appreciate. He hoped, in the back of his mind, that he could be the same for his friend. It was the last thought on his mind as he finally fell asleep.

He was completely unaware that Shikamaru was still awake, silently watching his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, will things finally get started between these two? haha I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave me your thoughts as comments are deeply enjoyed and loved!


	6. Rude Awakenings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are, at the next morning. How are things going to turn out for our two nin? You'll have to read to find out!
> 
> As always, I hope you all will enjoy this update and happy reading!

Morning woke Neji up gently, the sun coming through the window of the room and heating up his back. His subconscious revelled in the warmth and forced his body to not move, placing an almost unnatural lethargy in his muscles. His mind, however, was waking with the sun. At first, it focused on the warmth on his back, how relaxed he was. Of course, it then focused on the warmth in front of him, something that certainly couldn’t be from the sun. Confused, he slowly opened his eyes, blinking lazily a few times to clear his vision.

His eyes snapped wide open when all he saw in front of him was Shikamaru’s neck and upper chest.

Freezing in his spot, his brain raced to figure out how he had gotten into this particular position. Hadn’t he gone to sleep with his back facing his friend? As he tried to trace what info he could, he nearly paled when he realized what exactly he was seeing and feeling. His head was resting on Shikamaru’s arm! Not only that, but the younger man was facing him, the other arm resting in front of him. The rational part of his mind was screaming at him to move, to pull away, that he was _far too close!_ Yet he couldn’t move. Didn’t _want_ to move. Despite how unusual the situation was...he didn’t hate it. If anything, it was...rather relaxing.

“Good morning.”

Slowly raising his eyes, Neji tilted his head up just enough to lock with the Nara’s gaze. His eyes were too clear to have just woken up from a restful sleep, which meant he’d been awake for at least a little while. Had he...gravitated towards the younger nin while he’d been asleep? And how had his arm managed to get under his head during the night? Certainly Shikamaru hadn’t planned on that or had tried to purposely move his arm there. Had they unconsciously moved that way during the night? His arm had to be hurting.

“Sleep well?” Shikamaru asked, grinning lazily.

“Yes,” Neji answered softly, glancing down at the arm his head was resting on. Why wasn’t he moving yet?

“That’s good. Didn’t feel like waking you up, not when you were sleeping that heavily,” the Nara stated. “Seems like this all worked out then.”

“How long?” he asked. He didn’t have to clarify. He knew his friend would understand his question.

“I don’t know,” Shikamaru shrugged, yawning softly as he raised his free arm to cover his mouth. “Probably since the middle of the night. I was awake whe-”

“Man, you two sleep forever! We’re ready to-um...whoa...”

Neji’s eyes snapped to the door of their room, paling when he saw Kiba standing there with a shocked expression. He snapped up from the futon, pushing the blanket on top of him aside as he got to his feet. He was far from ashamed from being in the same bed as Shikamaru, but if word of this spread when they returned to Konoha, he had no doubt that the elders would pull him aside to give him, at the very least, a stern lecture. It was a little sad, really, that he was more afraid of his clan’s retribution than he was embarrassed.

Shikamaru, however, was wincing at the blood began to flow through his arm again and threw the dog nin a glare. “Thanks Kiba.”

Kiba blinked. “What, wait, are you two-”

“No,” Neji interrupted, not willing to let him finish that sentence. “We only shared the futon because you took the other one for Akamaru.”

“It was my idea,” Shikamaru added, slowly sitting up. “Didn’t want him sleeping on the floor. That’s all there is to it.”

“Really?” the dog nin smirked. “Because you sure looked like you were enjoying it.”

The shadow nin leveled his classmate with a deadpan stare. “Right.”

Kiba shrugged. “Hey, you can’t deny you swing that way.”

Shikamaru sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “So annoying. Kiba, drop it. You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”

“Sure,” the dog nin snorted. “Next you’ll be saying-”

“I believe we’re getting off track here,” Neji interrupted, again, having gained composure over his features. He was already aware of Shikamaru’s sexuality, though it wasn’t something they’d ever discussed. The man didn’t flaunt it like some, but he wasn’t ashamed of it either. It wasn’t something he hadn’t ever felt concern over. However, he did take a mental note that Shikamaru hadn’t exactly denied that he’d enjoyed sleeping next to him. There had been heavy sarcasm in his response, but no outright denial. The idea that Shikamaru had enjoyed it...well, it made something pleasant twist in his stomach. At least, he believed it was a pleasant feeling.

“Neji’s right,” the shadow nin sighed, getting to his feet and moving his arm around to get the blood flowing to it properly. “Get Shino down to the cafeteria and we’ll discuss today’s plans.”

“Fine,” Kiba pouted only to grin again as he turned from the door. “I’ll bring back a futon so you two don’t have to share again tonight.”

Neji sighed and rubbed his face once the dog nin was gone. Of all the ridiculous... Clearly Kiba was enjoying this situation far too much. He could have reacted better to the situation however. Jumping up from the futon as quickly as he had would have made anyone suspicious. _He_ would have been suspicious had it been someone else in his shoes. Apparently his acting and reaction skills needed a little bit of work. Though it wasn’t everyday that he woke up facing someone else and using their arm as a pillow.

“How’s your arm?” he asked, turning to look at his friend.

“It’s fine,” Shikamaru answered as he folded up the blankets and the futon. “Your head’s not that heavy.”

For a moment, he said nothing, unsure if he really wanted to ask his next question. “You didn’t mind then?”

The shadow nin glanced back at him, before he shook his head and reached for his jounin vest. “You of all people should know that I didn’t.”

Letting out a soft sigh, Neji nodded. “I’m sorry. I...I hadn’t been expecting to wake up like that.”

Shikamaru smirked and chuckled softly. “Don’t think too much on it or you’ll be just like Kiba. Let’s get breakfast and go over what I’d like to get done today.”

Unfortunately, Kiba’s amused and suspicious looks didn’t stop through the entirety of breakfast or even after Shikamaru had explained what he wanted each of them to do. Neji was relieved when they were dismissed and sent on their way. It was easy to focus on the mission, to try and find clues or hints about their targets. The townsfolk sadly knew very little. He stopped when he could, to help clear away rubble or assist where building was going on, but he also knew they needed answers and while useful, the idle of chatter of the people wasn’t going to help him much in the way of finding the criminals.

It was the middle of the afternoon when he stopped at a small shop that offered a variety of smaller dishes and sweets. Restaurants such as this one were often a great place to get information, but Neji was also hungry and needed something to refresh him for the rest of the day. He took an open seat near a window, since the place had open seating, and watched quietly as the world went on.

“Welcome!”

Neji turned to find a pleasant young woman addressing him, smiling as she set down a cup of tea in front of him. “I don’t know your face. Are you new in town?”

“I’m here on a mission,” Neji responded, vaguely pointing his forehead and the symbol of Konoha on it. “My team and I are here to find what we can to stop four bandits that have been ruining the towns around here.”

“I wish you luck with that,” the waitress sighed, shaking her head and looking angry. “What they did here was awful. They didn’t even take that much, but so many homes need to be rebuilt. Oh, I’m sorry. You’re a customer and I-”

“It’s alright,” he said with a small grin. “I’m open to hear any information you might have. Is there anything you can tell me?”

“Well,” the young lady hummed, placing her fingers by her mouth thoughtfully. “You said that you’re looking for four of the bandits, right? I believe there are actually five though.”

Neji paused and took a sip of his tea, glancing out the window before his focus went back to the waitress. “Five?”

She nodded. “Yes. The night they attacked, I thought I saw someone in the woods not far from here. Although, there was a lot of smoke and fire so I could have been seeing things.”

With a soft hum, the Hyuuga place his tea back down on the table. “Anything else?”

Shaking her head, she frowned. “I’m sorry. I went and hid in the basement of this shop after that.”

Leaning back in his seat, the shinobi simply stared at the tea in front of him. Five? Was it possible? Or was it, perhaps, that this woman had connections with the group they were tracking and she was trying to throw them off? Most of the stories he’d heard so far had supported the four person report. He really didn’t care for the fact that he had to be suspicious of someone he didn’t know, but they had very little information to work with and in his line of work, you had to consider as many possibilities as you could think of.

Lifting his gaze, he nodded his thanks to the waitress, picking up his tea again. “Thank you for your information. I’m sure it will help in our search. I think, however, there is something else you can help me with.”

“Oh?”

“I think I’ll take an order of your mitarashi dangos.”

After his small lunch, Neji made his way back to the inn’s dining area. Shikamaru had told them to meet up to exchange what they had found in the late afternoon. He had suspicions he needed to share, especially after what he’d been told and what he’d seen. His friend was already waiting when he arrived, looking bored. Kiba was sitting across from him with Akamaru at his side, staring at Shikamaru with the same look he’d had in the morning. He was given a slightly grateful look when he arrived and the shadow nin turned to face him.

“Just waiting for Shino,” the Nara stated as Neji took at seat at the table they were sitting at. “Once he gets here, we’ll discuss what we all were able to find.”

“While we’re waiting,” Kiba smirked, “why don’t you two give me the dirty details about last night?”

“Kiba,” Shikamaru sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing the bridge between his eyes. “For the _last_ time, nothing happened.”

“I’m not going to back off just like that,” the dog nin grinned.

Huffing, the shadow nin turned in his seat, staring straight into Kiba’s eyes. “Fine. You want to know what happened? You came in and wanted one of us to give you a futon for Akamaru. Neji agreed. You left. He was going to sleep on the floor, but I told him there was enough space on the futon for the both of us. He turned out the lights, made sure the room was secure, and then he laid down on the futon with his back facing me. Sometime during the night, he turned to face me and somehow my arm ended up under his head. End of story.”

Kiba blinked and when he didn’t say anything, Shikamaru sat back in his seat with a frown. “Satisfied?”

When the dog nin turned to look at him, Neji merely nodded. “That’s all that happened.”

“Ugh, lame,” Kiba pouted, leaning back to scratch Akamaru’s head. “You could have at least acted like there was something going on. Let me spread some rumors back in Konoha.”

“You could still do that, but it would be unwise to do so.” Shino slowly came into view, taking a seat next to Kiba.

“Because Neji’s fan club would start a riot?” the dog nin asked as innocently as he could.

“Fan club?” Neji question, raising a brow.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed,” Kiba stated, giving the older nin a disbelieving look. “Half the girls in the village are after you.”

“I highly doubt that it’s half, Kiba,” Shikamaru said blandly, taking a sip of the water in front of him.

“Alright, Mr Smarty-pants,” the dog nin snorted, “maybe not half, but there have to be at least a hundred girls would do anything to get into his pants.”

Appalled, Neji didn’t bother to hide it. “What?”

His reaction made Kiba snicker. “Man, that’s not a look you see often. For a genius, you’re pretty slow when it comes to girls.”

Shikamaru sighed. “We’re losing focus. Shino, did you find anything?”

Kiba looked a little put off that his fun had ended, but took it in his stride when Shino shook his head. “I was only able to gain a list of things that were stolen from the village. I’ve written them down for you to look at later.”

With a nod, the Nara grinned. “Good. Thanks. Neji?”

“I didn’t find anything,” Neji replied. “However, I stopped at a shop on the edge of town for some dangos and one of the waitresses said that she had seen five people, not four, during the attack.”

“Five?” the shadow nin asked, his brow furrowing.

“What Akamaru and I found supports that actually,” Kiba interjected, immediately shifting to a more serious state. “We found scent traces in the woods that didn’t belong to any of the townsfolk. At least, not anyone that we went by. The scent was cold, but we followed it and not too far off from the town, it connected with four other scents.”

“Fantastic,” Shikamaru grumbled. “Shino, let me see your list.”

Shino did as he was told, pulling out a sheet of paper and placing it in front of the team leader. The Nara glanced over the list, eyes narrowing in frustration before he pocketed it. “Nothing stands out on that list. Seems you guys had all the luck as I didn’t get anything that could help us out. Take a rest for now. We’ll leave at nightfall. Kiba, could you follow the scent you picked up earlier?”

Kiba grinned. “Of course!”

Neji turned his attention to the dog nin then, catching his eyes. “Kiba, you said that the scent you found hadn’t been familiar to any of the townsfolk?”

Kiba nodded. “None that we passed. Why?”

Letting his shoulders relax, the Hyuuga frowned a little. “The waitress I spoke to... What she shared with me made me feel suspicious. I wondered if her scent might be one of those you picked up in the woods.”

“What did she say?” Shikamaru asked, clearly wanting to know more. If it made his friend suspicious, there was a good chance that it was.

“She claimed that after she had seen the five criminals, she’d made her way down to the basement of the shop to hide,” Neji answered. “I checked with the Byakugan, to see if she was telling the truth. However, that shop didn’t have a basement of any kind.”

“Strange,” Shino murmured. “What reason did she have to lie to you?”

“It could be entirely coincidental,” the Hyuuga shrugged. “For all we know, she could have a secret that she didn’t want anyone to overhear.”

The table was quiet for a moment before Shikamaru got to his feet, stretching his arms behind his back. “I’m feeling pretty hungry I think. Dango sounds good.”

“Dango?” Kiba asked, the shift in the conversation clearly throwing him.

Shikamaru nodded, glancing directly at the dog nin. “Yeah, haven’t had any in forever. The ones you had, Neji, were they good?”

Catching on immediately, Neji grinned. “Not as good as Konoha’s of course, but they were rather delicious.”

The shadow nin smirked. “Good enough that you wouldn’t mind having them again?”

With a shake of his head, the Hyuuga got to his feet as well. “Not at all. They had other things to choose from as well so I could always get something different.”

Shino looked over at the dog nin, joining in on the ruse. “It would be good to eat something before we leave tonight.”

Kiba blinked at all of his teammates in slight confusion. He was about to ask what they were all talking about when something clicked in his mind. It had almost been visible, Neji thought, with the way his eyes had changed. Schooling his face, Kiba put on a fake frown and pouted. “Man, seriously you guys? Just when things were getting exciting.”

“Stop complaining,” Shikamaru huffed. “I’ll even buy if that will make you happy.”

“Damn, really?” the dog nin beamed. “Lead the way!”

Neji smirked as he led them back to the shop he’d visited earlier. He hoped the waitress was still there so Kiba could get her scent, but even if she wasn’t, he had no doubt that the Inuzuka would be able to pin it down. That was something he couldn’t even fathom, having a nose as sensitive as a dog’s. It didn’t take them long to arrive and he poked his head inside, grinning simply when he caught the eye of the woman who had served him earlier. She looked delighted to see him again and quickly made her way over as he fully stepped inside.

“Well, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,” she giggled, looking pleased.

“My team said they were in the mood for dangos,” he replied pleasantly. “I knew just the place to recommend.”

“This it, Neji?” Shikamaru stepped inside, nodding once towards the waitress politely.

“Yes,” Neji nodded, glad that he didn’t feel like he needed to push any introductions.

Shino stepped in silently as Shikamaru looked around the shop, looking bored as he did so. Kiba, however popped his head in and sniffed before he smiled at the young woman. “Looks and smells great! Excuse me, miss, but can my big, furry friend come inside?”

That earned him a confused look until Akamaru poked his head in as well, panting almost playfully. The waitress grinned and laughed in response before she nodded her head. “Of course! In fact, the table next to the door just cleared out so it’ll be perfect in case he needs to get up and leave.”

Kiba’s smile grew, were it possible. “Awesome, thanks! Come on, boy! I think she likes you.” He leaned down to dramatically stage whisper in Akamaru’s ear for the last part, something that only made the young woman laugh even more.

It wasn’t long before they were busily eating their dangos along with a few other dishes, keeping their conversation light to avoid any suspicion. Neji would keep his tone gentle with the waitress anytime that she came by. It seemed that she had taken a liking to him and would stop as often as she could without being invasive. Kiba had grumbled something about his fan club growing, but he ignored the comments. Whether it was part of the ruse or not, the more the woman stay around, the better chance Kiba and Akamaru had of picking up her scent along with any others that might be clinging to her.

As they were paying for their meal, Neji told the young woman (she had introduced herself as Fusa at the beginning of the meal) that they would come by again soon, only to have her give him a sad look.

“Oh, I probably won’t be here if you do,” she said. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning to take a trip to see my grandmother. She lives in another town, about a day’s worth of travel from here. I’ll be visiting with her for a week.”

“Are you going alone?” Neji asked.

“No, my parents are going with me,” Fusa smiled. “With those bandits on the loose, it’s just not safe to travel by yourself.”

“I hope you have a safe trip then, and that you arrive quickly to your grandmother’s home,” he stated.

The four shinobi bid their farewells and shared their thanks as they left, wandering back towards the inn they had stayed at. Once they’d entered the building and were on their way up to their respective rooms, Shikamaru turned his head just slightly towards the dog nin. “Results?”

Kiba nodded. “Her scent was new, but she had one clinging to her that Akamaru and I got back in the woods. She may not be directly involved, but she’s had contact with them.”

Shino stepped slightly closer once they’d stopped, keeping his voice low. “She was lying about her trip. As to which parts, I can’t say, but my bugs were able to catch a shift in her aura when she said it.”

The dog nin nodded. “Yup, Akamaru caught that too.”

Shikamaru hummed. “Change of plans. We’re going to follow her. There’s a pretty good chance that she’s going to meet up with one of those we’re looking for.”

Neji glanced over at his friend. “How good?”

“I’d say about a seventy-five percent chance,” the Nara replied. “I feel like she’ll get us closer to our targets than going around from town to town. Grab your gear and start to hide your chakras. We don’t know if she’s sensitive to chakra and we don’t want to set her off if she is. We meet down in the lobby in ten minutes.”

The team split to head into their rooms, to make sure they would leave nothing behind. Once in his shared room, Neji went straight for his weapons pack, cataloging what he had brought with him and making sure that none of it had been tampered with. He had just closed it when Shikamaru stepped up next to him, a neatly folded dark shirt in his hands.

“Neji, wear this.”

Blinking, he looked up at his friend before focusing on the material of the shirt, eyes widening when he realized what it was. “Shikamaru, that’s the ANBU-”

“I know what it is. It’s mine after all.”

“I can’t wear that,” Neji frowned. There was good reason for that too. Not only was the material hard to make, it was extremely expensive. Each shirt was made custom for the shinobi destined to wear it, down to the last millimeter. On top of that, it had the unique property of almost completely hiding its owner’s presence, especially once it had been attuned to their chakra. Due to the expense and quality, it was something that was issued only to members of ANBU. Regardless of whether the operative remained active in ANBU or not, the shirt stayed with them till their dying day.

“Besides, it’s attuned to your chakra, not mine.”

“You’re right, for the most part. There’s an exception to the rule though and that’s if it’s for the success of a mission,” Shikamaru stated, still holding out the shirt. “I need you to be practically invisible from this point on. I don’t know what we’re going to run into or the levels of the rogue nin we’re after. For all I know, they could all be of jounin strength. I’m not taking any chances. I need to keep you hidden so you can jump in if needed. As ANBU, by the way, I’m allowed to do this, especially as the leader of the mission.”

“You’re not supposed to share that information so freely, Shikamaru,” Neji replied with a slight smirk.

“You knew a long time ago, no thanks to Genma,” the shadow nin shrugged as he took the shirt from his hands. “Slip that on and come down to the lobby when you’re ready to go.” With a nod of his head, the younger nin grabbed his weapons pack and left Neji alone in the room.

For a moment, he could only stare at the shirt in his hands. The silky, yet form fitting material would cloak his chakra better than he could ever do on his own. He had part of the ANBU uniform in his hands and he was almost too thrilled to do more than just sit there holding it. There were rumors about the shirt, however, that he was definitely anxious to see if they were true. He took his time pulling it on, making sure to not try and stretch it out. As soon as it was flat on his skin, the color faded and became invisible, as if it had melded to him. It felt...strange, knowing that something was there, even though he couldn’t see it. There was also a slight pull on his chakra, but even that was barely noticeable.

Neji couldn’t help but smile. This is what ANBU wore. He was almost like a little kid with how exciting this was for him. ANBU was still a goal that he wanted to try and meet and to simply feel that he was close to it made him want it all the more. Even as he placed his clothes back on, he was barely aware of the shirt and he had to make a mental note to not forget it was there. Otherwise, Shikamaru would never get it back. Still, he was feeling a thrill that he hadn’t felt in a very long time. The thrill of pursuit and a fight.

Strange how a _shirt_ could make him feel that way.

Once he felt ready, he made his way down to the lobby. The rest of his team was waiting for him and he almost regretted wearing the shirt when Kiba raised a brow in his direction. Almost.

“Man, you smell like Shikamaru _all_ over,” the dog nin smirked, which in turn made Shino look between the two accused parties. “You two are doing each other, aren’t you?”

“Kiba, we were together for less than a minute,” Shikamaru sighed, though he had clearly expected this. “Focus, please.”

“No way, man. This is golden,” Kiba snickered. “I’m totally spilling the beans when we get back. There’s no way you two aren’t-”

“There’s nothing to share or for you to ‘spill the beans’ about, Kiba,” the Nara stated, leading them all outside of the inn. “I doubt you’d want to get hit with the Jyuuken anyway.”

“As if Neji could catch me,” the dog nin snorted, clearly throwing the taunt on purpose.

“I’d make sure you stayed still,” Shikamaru grumbled before Neji could even think of a retort. “We’re moving. I want everyone to hide their presence as best you can. We want to avoid detection as much as possible. Kiba and Shino, I want you to flank the woman’s sides as much as you can as soon as she starts moving. We’ll be relying on your tracking skills. Neji and I will follow behind her. Any questions? Then let’s go.”

Shino nodded and vanished, leaving Kiba to follow after him. Grinning with obvious glee, Kiba saluted the both of them. “Don’t have too much fun alone together.” With a snicker he was gone, Akamaru not far behind him.

Neji let out an annoyed breath, frowning at the space where Kiba had been standing. “Permission to punch him later?”

The younger nin snorted with a glare. “Not if I beat you to it. If it wasn’t against the rules, I would have explained why. You try to do something proactive and it comes back to bite you in the ass.”

With a light nod, Neji hummed his agreement. “Almost literally.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised one day if he did,” the Nara grumbled. “They should be in a position now where they can track her without being seen. Ready?”

The Hyuuga nodded, rolling his shoulders slowly. “I want to be sure before we leave. Can you sense my chakra?”

“Nope,” Shikamaru answered. “You’re practically invisible. You were good at it before, but now it’s as if you’re not there.”

“What is the plan if she notices us?” Neji asked, making sure he was loose and ready before they started to jump to the rooftops.

“She shouldn’t,” his friend replied, “especially as she didn’t seem to have any chakra control training that a shinobi does. However, in the possibility that she does, I’ll signal Kiba and Shino to show themselves first and I’ll be the last. You stay hidden.”

“Understood.”


	7. The Best Laid Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a bit of explaining for this chapter. I watched Naruto in Japanese with English subs (partially to help increase my learning of the language). As such, I watched the show hearing (and reading) the different jutsus in a combination of Japanese and romanji. As such, I've written in my story these jutsus in their romanji version. I will be adding a translation for each one at the end of this chapter just in case, but I wanted to let you all know that I was doing that.
> 
> Well, that gives away some of what is in this chapter, doesn't it? I hope you enjoy it regardless! Thank you so much for reading!

It didn’t take long for Fusa’s story to fall flat of what she’d told them. Early the next morning, before the sun had even started to light up the sky, she left the town. There was no one traveling with her, so the part about her parents joining her was clearly false. This was only further comp ounded as they followed her. While she hadn’t stated which direction her grandmother’s village was in, the direction she was heading towards was all forest. Not a hint of a village or a town for at least three days. She wasn’t packed for that much travel. In fact, there wasn’t even a pack.

When she had crossed the border, Shikamaru had hesitated for a moment on whether they should push forward or not. He didn’t want to involve any other countries in this if he didn’t have to. However, if they just let Fusa go, who knew what would happen after. In addition to that, she was technically a civilian within the Fire Country’s boundaries. That made her their responsibility. Not only that, but if she was connected to the criminals and they took care of the problem, there really couldn’t be much complaint from the River Country for crossing into their land. As long as they didn’t draw any civilians into the fight, they could act as if they’d never been there.

It was around the middle of the day when the young woman took a turn towards a deeper and thicker part of the forest they’d been following her through.  Neji didn’t sense anyone nearby and from the confusion he’d managed to see on Shikamaru’s face, he didn’t either. They’d joined up with Kiba and Shino along the way and at the signals the two were showing, they couldn’t sense anyone  as well . For a moment, he had to wonder if they’d followed a false trail. It had all added up too well, too easily. The thought made him frown.

Just as Shikamaru was about to give the signal for them to pull back, the ground began to shake, forcing each of them to stop and grip onto the trees they were hiding in. Fusa, however, looked to be unfazed by the sudden movement.  If anything, she looked more like a doll than a human. The ground split apart in front of her, a large solid mass of rock rising up from the earth. Neji didn’t hesitate to activate his Byakugan, immediately searching their surroundings. This had to be what had been described in the mission scroll. When the ground and rock settled, the four Konoha nin waited and watched in silence. They couldn’t risk giving themselves away.

The rock started to open then, splitting apart to reveal an entry. Neji was able to see four men inside,  as well as what he assumed was some sort of stone box. The four stepped out until they formed a single line in front of the young woman while their rock shield slipped back into the ground. One of them stepped forward then, smirking as Fusa knelt down in front of him. She tilted her head forward, as if bowing, and her hair parted to reveal a seal on the back of her neck. The man lifted two fingers and mumbled some words, which made the seal flash brightly. Fusa dropped like a rock, panting and twitching as she struggled to get up from the ground.

“You did well, Fusa,” the man stated, “to throw those Konoha nin off our trail.”

Fusa grit her teeth and glared at him. “I...didn’t have...a choice...”

Laughing, the man pushed her away with his foot, his eyes narrowing in delight. “Of course you didn’t. Not with my seal upon your neck.”

One of the others stepped forward, looking over at the one that Neji was going to assume was in charge. “You changed her scent too, right Akio? Don’t want any of those Konoha mutt users to follow her that way.”

The first man, Akio, nodded. “Enough to throw off any pursuit.”

Neji briefly broke away from the conversation between the rogue nin, giving his attention to Shikamaru. The shadow nin was still, watching for a moment and clearly concentrating deeply, before he lifted a hand and made some motions towards his left. Shino got the message quickly and it was almost amazing how quietly the bugs started to move in the background. His Byakugan tracked the insects as they slowly circled the clearing, stopping and waiting for a si gna l from their master. 

A few more brief hand movements from Shikamaru let Neji know that he’d  messaged for Shino to avoid Fusa. For the time being, it seemed that she’d been used against her will.  Of course, there was a chance that the five knew they were watching and it was all an act. Shino’s bugs would help determine the truth. If Fusa was innocent, then they would have to make sure that she stayed out of the line of fire. If she was part of the group, which they couldn’t rule out, it wouldn’t be hard to compensate for that considering she was in the center with the rest of them.

Once the circle was complete, Neji watched as Shino kept the bugs in place, waiting for a n order . Shikamaru waited for a moment, watching the four rogue nin carefully. Just when he was about to signal to his friend to ask why he wasn’t attacking, a single hand movement from the shadow nin was all it took. In the next second, the insects were swarming  the area, racing towards the ninja closest to them. Three managed to avoid the bugs, but the fourth moved too slowly and he flailed and tried to brush away the insects that started to rush up his legs.

For a moment, it looked as if they’d managed to catch one of the targets as the bugs completely encased him. Seconds later, however, they dispersed, floating in the air almost aimlessly before rushing back into the trees and grass for cover. It was almost as if they’d been burned. The man they had been attacking was completely covered in stone, which cracked as he stood up to brush away any of the lingering insects. He glared into the forest, trying to pinpoint his attacker as the rest of his armor crumbled away.

“Damn bugs,” he growled, looking around. “If it weren’t for my rock armor-”

“Focus, Ishi,” Akio ordered, moving to a defensive position. “Those bugs belong to a shinobi. Mostly likely one of those Konoha ninja.”

“I thought you said they wouldn’t be able to track her,” the fourth member of the group grumbled.

“Not through her scent. However, if they managed to plant a bug on her...” Akio murmured, leaving the sentence unfinished. “Mamoru, Ishi, Hisoka, raise the barrier!”

The remaining three did as they were told, rushing to form a triangle around the stone box sitting behind them. They were quick to form the necessary seals and an earth barrier sprang up from the ground. Shikamaru, however, didn’t order anyone to move, despite how antsy Kiba looked. He was clearly calculating the next few steps, his eyes taking in every move and seal made. It was so different to how he’d been as a genin, Neji noted to himself. After the failed mission to retrieve Sasuke and the loss of Asuma, Shikamaru had really brought forward his skills as a strategist, one who would formulate plans to protect all of his friends.

“I sense three,” Ishi stated from behind a stone wall. “In the trees.”

“Three?” Akio frowned. “There should be four...”

Neji remained as still as possible. If they couldn’t sense him, he was going to keep it that way. There was no reason to reveal that there were four instead of three shinobi in the trees. He once again turned his focus on Shikamaru, watching as he made signals for Kiba to attack though his own attention was locked on the Hyuuga. Neji merely gave him a nod in understanding. He would stay where he was until he was called for. The rest of them would keep the four men occupied while he continued to search for a weak spot. If they could bring down the barrier, it would save them quite a bit of trouble.

From the corner of the Byakugan, he saw Fusa pulling herself towards the bushes and trees closest to her. Had the situation been any different, he would have moved to help her. However, it was still uncertain of whether she was an innocent victim in all of this or if she was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.  His attention was pulled from her when a cry of “Gatsuuga!”  rang out across the trees. Kiba and Akamaru wasted no time in following Shikamaru’s order, heading straight for Akio, who was the only one standing outside of the barrier.

“Shit!” Akio cursed as he barely jumped out of the way.

Even if it had looked like the dog nin and his companion had been heading towards him, their goal was actually the barrier behind him. Shikamaru and Neji watched as they drilled a considerable dent into the rock before they both bounded back, coming to a full stop at the edge of the trees.  At first it looked as if the barrier itself was merely strong, but the next few seconds reveal ed that there was more to it than that. They had seen something very similar before and were not exactly happy to see it again. The barrier was healing itself.

“You might want to call out your friends,” Akio growled at Kiba, pulling out several scrolls which summoned a half dozen puppets. “You’re going to need their help!”

S hikamaru and Shino jumped out as the puppets flew forward. Shino stopped one with his insects while Shikamaru immediately knelt on the ground. His shadows raced up and forward, wrapping around and constricting the puppets that Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru couldn’t block. He kept his hold and he tried to fully observe the situation as Kiba and Shino continued to fend off the puppets still moving. A puppet user and three barrier guards. The barrier, however, was serving a purpose other than to protect the stone box they’d seen earlier. How had they created such damage to the towns then?

Neji continued to watch as his team battled with Akio’s puppets.  The man was quite adept at using all six, but Konoha shinobi were no pushovers and those three in particular were the next in line for each of their clans. Confident that they could continue their fight without him, he quietly made his way around in the trees, hoping to get a better view of the barrier. It would be easy with the way the barrier was set up for him to jump in and break their concentration. However, something didn’t feel right. His eyes widened when he realized what he was staring at. Clones. The ones holding up the barrier were clones! That shouldn’t be possible, with the amount of concentration it took to hold up a barrier!

The ground cracked in front of Akio then, the only warning Neji got before the other three rogue nin were bursting out from the earth. Things seemed to move in slow motion then as the next step he took wasn’t even questioned in his mind. Despite the orders he’d received from Shikamaru, he jumped forward, focused on getting between his team and the surprise attack. Even as he moved, his Byakugan managed to take a peek inside of the stone box, before he returned his focus to the defense of his friends. It took no time to get into position once he’d landed.

“Hakkeshou kaiten!”

Shikamaru, Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino jumped back as soon as he’d landed. They watched as his defensive spin not only knocked back the three enemy ninja, but it also managed to tear one of the puppets that had gotten caught in the spin to pieces. Neji slowed to a stop, one palm facing the sky as the other faced their enemies, and placed himself as a wall for his teammates. Kiba and Akamaru were quick to reorient themselves, bounding forward to stand next to him, while Shikamaru and Shino stood behind them.

“There’s number four,” the second man grumbled, who Neji assumed was Hisoka.

“Doesn’t matter,” Akio stated with a smirk. “They’re all going to die anyway.”

Neji took a step closer to Shikamaru, making sure he was close enough that pitching his voice would keep it practically inaudible to the other group. “The barrier is being upheld by clones. How they’re doing it, I’m not sure, but what they stole from the towns they’ve attacked is concealed within the stone box we saw earlier.”

The shadow nin hummed, keeping his eyes in front of him. “Were you able to see what was inside it?”

It sounded funny, even to his own ears, but he nodded in answer. “Dolls.”

That made the Nara blink. “Dolls?”

Neji hummed softly. “It was brief, but they all appear to be handmade, so they must have a specific purpose. That was all I was able to see.”

“No, that’s enough,” Shikamaru smirked. “Thanks.”

“Ah!” Ishi suddenly cried out, pointing at Neji. “He’s a Hyuuga!”

“He must have been able to see through the barrier,” the fourth and largest of the group said lowly.

“He probably knows the contents of our box as well, Mamoru,” Akio stated. “Let’s get this over with. We’ve got a client to meet.”

The following fight was far more brutal than Neji had expected it to be. Almost all of the jutsus their enemies were using were earth based, but even that knowledge didn’t make things easier. The three enemy ninja and the five remaining puppets made it hard to go on the offensive and while defense was something he was particularly adept with, Kiba and Akamaru were not. It was a struggle to merely stand their ground and stay together. Every hit seemed to do little to  no damage and while they were growing tired, the ones in front of them seemed to have boundless energy and chakra.

After what seemed to be a constant back and forth, the rogue nin gained the upper hand. Mamoru landed a heavy blow against Kiba, one that sent him flying back into a tree. Akamaru was quick to move to his master’s side when it was clear that he’d been knocked unconscious. Shino, too, moved to his teammate's defense, using his bugs as best he could as a shield and a distraction. Neji tried to move to help them, but the remaning three had apparently deemed that he was the larger threat and their focus was very much on him and Shikamaru. Even with his defensive spin, a delayed kunai slipped past him, the weapon striking the shadow nin’s shoulder as it passed.

“Shit,” the Nara growled, rolling back and grasping his shoulder. The cut wasn’t awful, but it had been deep enough to render his arm useless for the time being.

Without a though t , Neji moved to stand in front of his friend. He was panting softly as he took yet another defensive pose and he let his Byakugan fade as he focused on protecting his teammate. They had fought against tougher foes before. Why did it feel as if his chakra levels were so drained? It was not a feeling he’d felt since he’d been a genin.

“Kamaitachi!”

Without warning, the forest was blasted with a violent gust of wind. Neji shielded his eyes as the blast moved right past him and straight for the enemy. Though they were just as surprised as the Konoha nin, the rogue nin stepped back from the current and tried to shield themselves from getting blown away. There was only one person that the Hyuuga knew of that could create such a strong gust and he wasn’t surprised when Temari landed in the space between where they were standing and where Shino was guarding Kiba. Kankuro arrived shortly after his sister, a puppet already out and ready for use as Shino stepped back to check on the dog nin.

It really should have been something he’d been expecting, but Neji was startled when Gaara landed in front of him, arms crossed casually across his chest. It wasn’t everyday that you got to see one of the Kage’s on the battlefield.

“Kazekage!” Neji exclaimed, letting his shock color his tone.

“Are you alright?” Gaara asked, his gaze never leaving the four nin in front of him, who were glaring at the Suna nin with open hatred.

“You look terrible,” Temari called over, smirking at Shikamaru. “So much for that genius brain of yours.”

“Kind of hard to create a strategy when all I know is that there are four of them and that they use a barrier,” Shikamaru retorted, getting to his feet. “What brings you out here?”

“We were informed that Uchiha Itachi has surrendered to Konoha,” Temari answered, snapping her fan open to show a single circle. “Gaara received an invitation along with the other Kage to meet with the Hokage. Lucky that we just happened to be nearby, huh?” She gave Shikamaru a grin that Neji could only describe as smug. He kind of hated it.

Shikamaru sighed. “Lucky...” Shaking his head, he cleared his throat and spoke loud enough for that Kankuro would be able to hear what he had to say. “Their barrier is merely a strong wall, but it heals itself from any damage inflicted on it. The front three are your standard shinobi and the y use mostly earth based jutsus. The one in the back, as you can see, is a puppet user.”

Ishi, obviously the most volatile of the rogue nin, bristled at the words. “What do you mean ‘standard’?! Bastard!”

“Have you come up with a plan?” Gaara asked, the cork on his gourd falling to the ground as his sand started to spill out. He kept his gaze locked on the enemy and Neji was honestly quite glad he was _not_ on the receiving end of that stare. Akio,  obviously not wanting to wait, sent one of his puppets flying forward, only to have it slammed to the ground by a mere finger flick from the Kazekage.

Pausing, Shikamaru took a moment to focus, closing his eyes as he played the battlefield through his mind. It didn’t take him very long before his eyes opened again and he stepped closer to Neji and Gaara, obviously with the intent of sharing his plan. Kiba was regaining consciousness at this point, groaning softly as he slowly got to his feet, growling at the teasing he got from Kankuro. Despite not wanting to keep anyone out of the loop, the shadow nin pitched his voice low so only those near him could hear what he had to say.

“If we can land a heavy enough blow on the barrier to make a sizable crack in it,” he explained, “it should give you enough time to push your sand into that crack and break it open further. The barrier doesn’t absorb external chakra from what I’ve seen, so we don’t need to be concerned about your sand being drained of yours. Once that barrier is weakened, we’ll be able to defeat the clones they have holding it up. The barrier has to be using a good chunk of their chakra and once it’s gone, it shouldn’t be hard to subdue them.”

“Who did you have in mind to get close enough to the barrier?” Temari had inched closer to the group, no doubt wanting to hear the Nara’s plan. “Your dog nin seems to be a little too disoriented to render a blow that hard.”

“He’s not the only close combat fighter here,” Shikamaru smirked, placing his good hand on Neji’s shoulder. “If we can get him close enough, he should be able to create the opening we need.”

“Leave it to me,” Neji nodded, activating his Byakugan. All he needed to do was to get close enough. If his comrades could keep the enemy distracted, it would be easy to get next to it. Now that they had evened out the numbers, it should be even easier.

Shikamaru stepped back, looking over at the rest of their group. His next words were very uncharacteristic of him, but they brought devilish grins to Kiba’s and Kankuro’s faces. “Bust ‘em up.”

Kankuro chuckled, sending his puppet forward. “You don’t need to tell me twice!”

Kiba was not far behind the puppet. “Let’s go, Akamaru! Soutourou!” Combining with his companion took no time at all and in a flash, there was an enormous, two-headed wolf charging towards the enemy. Neji took the chance to disappear back into the trees, leaving Shikamaru in Temari’s and Gaara’s protection. He swung between the branches, pausing only when a particularly large shout from Kiba made the ground explode around him, the powerful blow forcing the enemy to break apart. Neji smirked at the display. Shikamaru had been right, in how vital Kiba’s skills were in this mission. Not even Temari could create such a blast.

He managed to get behind the barrier as his comrades kept the four rogue nin busy. He made himself visible to Shikamaru, locking eyes with his friend once he was ready. The shadow nin nodded and made a motion to the Kazekage, who in turn noted the Hyuuga’s position before he nodded as well. Taking in a slow deep breath, Neji focused his chakra into his right palm. In the next second he was rushing forward, easily dodging a kunai attack as he brought his hand up. Just in front of the barrier, he pulled back his arm and then pushed it forward, releasing the chakra he’d focused there.

“Hakke hasangeki!”

The force of his attack nearly shattered the side of the barrier in front of him, the other two cracking drastically. The second he felt sand rushing forward and past his cheek, he jumped away as far as he could. It was time to let the Kazekage do the rest. The barrier began to heal itself against the sand invading it, only to be stopped as the sand filled in the cracks. Neji watched as Gaara pulled both of his arms back, his palms stiff as he no doubt compressed the sand under his control. Kankuro, Kiba, and Akamaru jumped back as soon as they could and Gaara wasted no time in curling his hands into fists.

“Suna bakuha!”

The barrier exploded, Gaara’s sand shoving the rock apart and into hundreds of pieces. The shockwave of it all sent the four rogue nin at least to their knees and they stared in shock at the utter destruction of their defense. Neji’s Byakugan was watching through the dust and he frowned at the speed that the barrier started to heal itself. There wouldn’t be enough time for anyone else to jump in and defeat the clones to completely bring it down. There was no choice then, no time to debate his next move.

The dust cleared just in time for his comrades to see him diving inside the barrier just before the rock healed enough to make such a move impossible. Kiba started to rush forward to help him, only to be stopped by Shino holding out an arm.

“Neji!”

“Tough luck,” Akio smirked at the dog nin, getting to his feet. “You’ve been fighting the clones. The real ones are on the inside. He’s done for.”

To everyone’s surprise, it was Shino who answered his comment. “You’re mistaken. You’re forgetting one important fact.”

The rogue nin snorted. “Oh yeah?”

Shikamaru stepped forward, smirking. “The Hyuuga clan is known for several things, but if there’s one thing that’s undisputed...is that they’re masters of close combat.”

Akio froze for a moment before a should came from inside the barrier.

“Hakke rokujuuyon shou!”

The mixed sounds of cracking stones and flesh being smacked resounded from inside of the barrier. Within seconds, the walls were crumbling to the ground, the three rogue nin slumping with it. Neji stood strong in the center of it all, the stone box resting next to his feet. The clones outside fell apart, leaving three piles of stones on the ground and Akio glancing around him frantically. He growled as he moved his remaining puppet towards Neji, no doubt focused on retrieving the box. The Hyuuga easily dodge the puppet and focused his chakra into his hand to cut the puppet strings as it flew past. It rolled harmlessly to the ground.

“Damn it!” Akio cursed, trying to reattach his chakra to the puppet, only to have it yanked away before he had a chance. Kankuro teasingly dangled the puppet in the air for a second before he threw it further into the woods, as far out of reach as he could make it. Just when they all thought the puppet to be useless, the mouth of it flew open and shot out a single kunai. It moved too quickly for Neji to fully dodge it and it slashed his side as it flew past him. Grunting, he stepped back and placed a hand over the cut with a wince.

Shikamaru glowered and threw one of his chakra blades at the man’s shadow, freezing Akio in his place. He nodded to Temari before making his way over to Neji to check on his teammate. The fan user, however, took her time walking over to the rogue nin, a devilish smirk on her face as he tried to get away before she raised a hand and hit him squarely on the back of his neck, temporarily stunning him. She bound his hands immediately after and let him fall to the ground while retrieving the Nara’s knife.

“Neji, are you alright?” the shadow nin asked, open concern on his face.

“It’s just a scratch,” Neji answered, lifting his hand just enough to start healing it.

“Wait,” Kiba exclaimed, his eyes going wide. He and the others had been walking over to where he was standing. “You know medical ninjutsu?!”

“Hinata has been sharing some of what she’s learned from Shizune with me,” the Hyuuga answered, letting his hand fall away from the cut. “I thought it would be useful to at least know how to apply first aid.”

“Seriously man,” Kiba grumped, though his eyes were shining with respect, “is there anything you _can’t_ do?”

Smirking, Neji turned to Shikamaru and raised his hand in question. The shadow nin nodded and turned his shoulder  gratefully to get the attention it needed. Why wasn’t he surprised that his friend seemed to know he could do this? He was the only one not shocked it seemed. As he focused on healing the cut, he glanced over at the dog nin to answer his question. “Long range attacks.”

Temari grinned as she leaned against her fan. “Not true. The force from that first attack you hit the barrier with could certainly do some long range damage if you ask me.”

Shikamaru nodded his thanks to Neji when his hands pulled away and tested his arm by rolling the shoulder and twisting it. “Considering how far back the blast actually goes, I’d say the same. Now, let’s take a look at those dolls you saw earlier.”

There were a total of ten dolls inside the box, medium in size. They certainly hadn’t been built for someone to play with. They had no faces painted on, had no hair on the top of their heads, and really lacked anything that distinguished them as unique. The only thing that separated them was that each had a symbol and color stamped on their chest. There were latches on each hand and foot of the dolls, as well as one at the top of their heads. Neji frowned as he looked at the one in his hands. Who would want such a thing?

Akio had said that they were meeting with a client, which meant they’d been paid to retrieve these dolls, no matter the cost. Towns had been ruined for them. So the question was, who wanted them? And why?

“I don’t see anything special about these,” Kiba frowned, setting his doll back in the stone box with the others. Shino and the Suna nin did the same. Neji and Shikamaru alone kept theirs in their hands.

“There’s got to be something inside,” the shadow nin stated, toying idly with the latch he could see on his doll’s head.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you...mh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Romanji jutsu translations (should you want them). The English versions of the name come from naruto.wikia:
> 
> Gatsuuga - Fang Passing Fang  
> Hakkeshou kaiten - Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven  
> Kamaitachi - Sickle Weasel  
> Soutourou - Double-Headed Wolf  
> Hakke hasangeki - Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher  
> Suna bakuha - Sand Explosion  
> Hakke rokujuuyon shou - Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms


	8. Pushed to the Edge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was tempted to withhold this update for another week, but I decided it was better to try and keep to a schedule than not. haha I had fun writing this chapter and I hope that comes across to all of you!
> 
> I want to shout out to my beta, kyuubi_wench, once again. She's been so fun and helpful with this rewrite. I really wouldn't have started this story again if it hadn't been for her.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you...mh.”

Neji dropped the doll in his hand and snapped his attention to the voice above them. He activated his Byakugan and glared at the man standing before them. This was getting ridiculous. First the barrier and the four rogue nin and now this? This mission was taking far too many odd turns and this last one was going against the orders they’d received from the Hokage. As he wildly searched the area for any other members of Akatsuki, he mentally grumbled. The reports that they’d received said that Deidara had blown himself up in a fight against Sasuke. So how the hell was he standing here?

“Deidara!” Kankuro snarled, rushing to stand in front of Gaara. He whipped out not one, not two, but three of his puppets, the wooden tools clacking furiously. Temari moved to do the same, snapping her fan fully open. Her eyes were blazing and it wasn’t a look Neji had ever seen on her face before. The Kazekage’s sand was rushing furiously around his feet, his brow pinched in anger. Clearly, he was not pleased at the turn of events. Though he was no longer a target to the Akatsuki, he would never forget what the rogue Iwa nin had done to him, had nearly done to his village.

Shikamaru  glanced briefly at the defensive positions of the Suna siblings, taking a slightly more relaxed pose himself. Lifting the doll in his hand, he kept his attention on their enemy. “What do you mean?”

Deidara smirked, clearly enjoying the view from his perch. “Master Sasori made those dolls. I’m only here to collect them.”

Neji glared. “Answer his question.”

That earned him a snort. “Open the wrong latch and...boom, mh.”

The Allied shinobi eyed the dolls in the box cautiously, the thought of there being so many explosives in one spot a little unnerving. The Hyuuga, however, turned his attention the doll in Shikamaru’s hand, focusing on looking inside of it. It immediately became clear that the rogue Iwa nin wasn’t lying. There were two explosive tags resting on the back of the doll, with small fuses attached to each of the latches. It looked as if there was a further puzzle within that, but he didn’t have time to figure it all out. He’d rather keep his focus on the immediate threat.

“He’s telling the truth,” Neji stated. “The latches are connected to the tags by a small fuse. There’s a scroll in the center, though I’m not sure how you’d pull it out right now.”

“As expected of the Hyuuga clan,” Deidara hummed. “Spoils my fun though. If I didn’t need them, I would have let you open one.”

“There are scrolls inside?” Shikamaru asked, to which the Hyuuga nodded. His brain raced to connect the dots before he look at the doll in his hand with surprise. “Sasori had spies all over the place, at least one in each village. They had to get the information out somehow. I’d bet that each of these scrolls has information that they gathered and were going to bring back to him. It could probably bring each village to its knees or be sold to someone for a high price.”

The  pyro blinked for a quiet moment before his visible eye lit up in recognition. “You’re that Nara kid! That one that beat Hidan and Kakuzu! They said you were smart,  mh .”

Kiba growled. “Why is it that  _every_ member of Akatsuki seems to know who you are, Shikamaru?”

“Every member of Akatsuki is an S-ranked criminal in the bingo books, with hundreds to thousands of dead by their hands,” Shino stated, his bugs swarming around him. “Shikamaru devised a strategy from one battle that not only isolated two of them, but allowed him to prepare ahead of time to take one of them down. It is not a small feat, Kiba.”

Deidara chuckled, squatting down on the branch he was on. “It’s not every day we hear of someone who can beat us after fighting against us once. No one lives that long.”

“Speaking of which,” Shikamaru cut in, his eyes sharp as he was clearly trying to put pieces of a puzzle together, “how are you alive? Our reports say that you died in battle against Sasuke.”

“Hey, I kicked his ass, mh!” the pyro growled. “He only got away due to that stupid summoning jutsu of his! He’d be dead if it wasn’t for that!”

“How are you alive?” Shikamaru repeated, his eyes narrowing. He hated repeating himself.

“It wasn’t me that exploded,” Deidara explained, still scowling. “That was a clone. The real me would have wiped out a bigger area.”

“Bigger?” Shino asked. “But that explosion...”

A giant grin spread across the pyro’s face in satisfaction. “It was huge, right?! I almost got caught in the blast myself, mh.”

Gaara glowered and took a step forward. “Enough talking.”

Deidara’s eyes sparkled and he pushed himself up slowly. “Sounds good to me. I’ve been wanting to make something explode all day, mh. I’ll be taking those dolls when I’m done with all of you!”

His hands suddenly flew forward, little white balls flying towards the group. Neji and Shikamaru caught a glimpse of the rogue nin lifting two fingers towards the air just as Gaara’s sand moved to cover them. No sooner had that happened then they heard Deidara shout out “Katsu!” before a near deafening explosion shook the ground. The Hyuuga frowned as he steadied his stance. He should have been prepared for that, considering the information they had on Deidara, but then everyone had thought the man dead, so there hadn’t been too much of a concern in reading the details.

The sand moved away from protecting them then, snapping forward with a speed he hadn’t seen before. It narrowly missed Deidara, who had jumped away from the branch he was on. He managed to dodge the attacks from Temari and Kankuro as well, though they were persistent enough that he was unable to put his hands in the bags on his hips for more clay. When Shino and Kiba jumped into the fray, he lost his chance to even create the most simple of seals. Neji watched from the side as the terrorist finally seemed to understand what he was up against. He was talented, that could clearly be seen, but pitted close range against the Kazakage, two jounin (who also happened to be siblings of the Kazekage), and two chuunin? The odds were not in his favor.

Shikamaru was kneeling just off to the side, watching the battle closely with one of his chakra blades in his hand. When the opportunity he’d been looking for appeared, he wasted no time, throwing the knife with the accuracy that only a ninja could perform. The blade sank into the ground just after Deidara had landed in the clearing, freezing him in his place. His eyes snapped downward, cursing softly when he saw what exactly had him pinned. Kiba and Shino halted, watching him carefully as they waited for the Nara’s order. However, he wasn’t even given time to do that as the Suna siblings, seeing their target had stopped moving, shot forward with the intent to kill the man.

Deidara grit his teeth and fought as best he could against his invisible bonds. “Tch!”

“Stop!” Shikamaru called out, reaching a hand out to the siblings, his eyes widening it was clear that the Suna shinobi were not listening.

With a sharp huff, Neji jumped in front of Deidara, standing as close as he dared to not only protect the rogue nin, but make sure he couldn’t be grabbed, bound shadow or not. It didn’t take him long to get into position before he began to spin, creating his shield of chakra around the both of them.

The spin easily knocked back Kankuro’s puppet and even Temari’s whirlwind didn’t last long. Neji could feel the strain against Gaara’s sand, however, the force of it threatening to break through the chakra shield. Despite the pressure, he managed to push all the attacks back, grunting softly as he stopped spinning. The sudden move had caused his wound to open and he grunted as he fell to one knee. All three Suna nin stood in shock, starting at him like they’d never seen him before. Neji panted softly, his teeth grit in pain as he pushed himself up to stand. His chakra levels were getting low.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Temari shouted, her eyes bright with fury.

“While I can understand where your anger comes from,” Neji stated, holding his side gingerly, “he is still a member of Akatsuki. He holds information that could greatly benefit the Alliance against our future battles against Uchiha Madara. It would be wise to keep him alive.”

“Like hell it will!” Kankuro yelled, joining his sister in their rage. “You’ve already got Uchiha Itachi! You’ve got all you need to know from him!”

“Not true,” Shikamaru stated calmly, moving to stand by Neji’s side and double checking the position of his chakra blade before throwing the second one down next to it for good measure (Deidara scowled at him for it). He focused his attention on the youngest of the Suna siblings, who was still glaring in Deidara’s direction. “While Itachi has given the Hokage plenty of information, there are things about Akatsuki that he doesn’t know. Things that Deidara possibly might. On top of that, we’re going to fighting against Uchiha Madara. The threat he poses isn’t something we should ignore. We need to get all the information that we can.”

“He killed Gaara!” Temari screamed, as if he argument canceled out all the others.

There was silence for a moment, save for the grunts from the rogue nin as he tried to free himself from the chakra blades, before Gaara stepped forward, gently placing his hands on his siblings’ shoulders. “Stand down, Temari, Kankuro. They are right.”

“But Gaara-” Kankuro started, whipping his head to look at his younger brother. The Kazekage shook his head.

“They are right,” Gaara repeated. “We need to think about this calmly and not let our emotions dictate our actions. That’s when we lose. My apologies, Shikamaru, Neji. I was not thinking rationally.”

Shikamaru shrugged, relaxing a bit. “No one got hurt. Neji, if you would.”

Neji nodded, straightening his back as he turned to face the rogue nin behind him. Deidara stared at him with a mix of confusion and anger, a question lingering in blue eyes. He didn’t have any idea what it might be that the terrorist was asking for and even if he had the energy to think about it, he doubted he’d have an answer. Without a word, he pushed chakra into the tenketsu points at the base of Deidara’s neck as well at the center of his stomach. The rogue nin’s eyes rolled back as he fell unconscious, Shikamaru using his shadows to slow the man’s descent to the ground. There was no need to give him a concussion.

It wasn’t long before Neji fell to his knees after him, falling forward to rest partially on his hands.

“Neji!” Shikamaru was kneeling at his side immediately, looking over not only the wound on his side, but making sure there wasn’t any other visible causes for his collapse. He pressed a hand to Neji’s shoulder, frowning a bit as he let out a soft breath. “You’ve used too much chakra. Take it easy from here.”

“I’m sorry,” Neji panted, closing his eyes for a moment. “I’ll be fine.”

“Later, we’re letting you rest,” the shadow nin said, helping him get back to his feet. “We need to start heading back to Konoha. Kiba, is Akamaru alright with carrying Deidara on his back? We’ll tie the others up and make them walk.”

“Walking will take too long,” Gaara stated. With a wave of his hand, he moved his sand over to the four still unconscious rogue nin. He wrapped his sand around each of them, lifting them up from the ground with ease. “This will allow us to move forward faster.”

“Ah, thank you, that will be much faster,” Shikamaru said with a grin. “It’ll save us a lot of trouble too. Shino, would you mind carrying half of the dolls?”

“Of course,” Shino nodded, reaching to his weapon pouch and pulling out a couple small bags. It was well known to those of Konoha that the Aburame clan almost always had at least one bag or a net with them. Rare and new bugs were something they were constantly seeking. He wordlessly tossed the second bag over to Shikamaru, who nodded his thanks.

Temari snapped her fan shut as Kankuro return his puppets to their scrolls, both still glaring at Deidara’s prone form. The kunoichi snorted and turned away angrily. “Hurry up before I change my mind.”

As Shikamaru and Shino carefully placed the dolls into their bags and Gaara helped Kiba secure Deidara to Akamaru’s back, Neji took a moment to recuperate some of his energy. He couldn’t believe how drained he felt. He’d had harder and longer fights and had walked away from those tired, but not like this. This was as if his body had been stripped of everything. A sudden rustle from the bushes nearby broke his thoughts and he and Temari tensed, as they were closest to the source.

He felt a bit guilty, as Fusa emerged from her hiding spot. He’d completely forgotten about her. She cautiously and sheepishly walked towards the ground, looking completely ashamed. He didn’t feel uneasy as she approached and he believed it was safe to say now that she was an innocent victim in all that had happened. “I...I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to cause you so much trouble...”

Neji shook his head. “You actually did us a favor in a way, by leading us here. It might have been too late in finding them if we’d gone about this differently. How is the seal on your neck?”

“Ah, it’s...it’s gone I think,” Fusa mumbled. “Thank you.”

“Glad to see you’re okay!” Kiba smiled as he walked over. “I’m sorry we didn’t jump in earlier to help you though. It was hard staying put.”

“Are we ready to go?” Shikamaru asked, slinging his bag of dolls on his back.

“Almost!” the dog nin answered, before he turned to Fusa with a smile before turning his back to her. “Alright, go ahead and climb on!”

“Eh?” the young woman asked, confused.

“We’ll be traveling at ninja speed,” Kiba answered with a laugh. “And I’d rather not leave you behind. So hop on and we’ll get going!”

Neji watched as Kiba continued to convince Fusa to get on his back, silently relieved that the Inuzuka had stepped up to the plate on that. With as weak as he was feeling, he didn’t think he could carry another person safely. He wasn’t sure if Kiba had caught onto that or if he was just flirting, but he was grateful all the same. Once Fusa was settled on the dog nin’s back, he signaled to Shikamaru that he was ready. The shadow nin nodded before turning to the Kazekage to state they were ready to leave when he was. Gaara merely nodded and then bounded into the trees.

When traveling at shinobi paces, it took them less than a third of the time to return to the town where Fusa lived. It was a slight detour on their way back to Konoha, but Kiba had insisted that this was something they needed to do. The young woman had thanked them profusely when they had dropped her off, to the point that it made Neji feel a bit uncomfortable. He had no doubt that Shikamaru would request that someone be placed to watch over her for a couple months as a precaution once they were back in Konoha, but for now, they could bid their farewells and be on their way.

It was still the afternoon once they had dropped her off and both Gaara and Shikamaru expressed that the sooner they returned to Konoha, the better. So the group continued to travel on their way, knowing that they would be stopping at whatever town was closest as soon as night started to fall. Camping wasn’t something they wanted to do with five rouge nin in tow, no matter how tightly bound each of them would be. Neji was also hopeful for a futon or a bed. His exhaustion was getting to him and he didn’t like it one bit.

The village they stopped in was in the middle of a festival, people bustling around to and fro with smiles on their faces. Instead of creating a stir, Shikamaru sought out the local officials and explained their situation. They didn’t plan to leave the captured rogue nin unattended, but they needed a place to keep them and he doubted they wanted an inn room to be used as a temporary cell. The village leader was very kind and claimed that he was happy to be of service and immediately ordered that one of the cells in their tiny prison be cleared out for the rogue nin.

Gaara’s sand easily guided the now conscious criminals into their cell, holding them still as Neji sealed off their chakra points for what he hoped would hold for at least the rest of the night. Their hands were also bound in a way that escape and forming seals would be impossible. Deidara, however, received a bit more special treatment. In addition to the sealing of his chakra and the bonds, the Kazekage wrapped his sand around him to hold him through the night, regardless of whether he was around or not. If he was rough with his treatment of the pyro, no one made any comment to the observation.

Kankuro volunteered to take the first shift to watch their charges, pulling out one of his puppets to rest against the wall with him as the remainder of the party left the prison. The next task proved to be a bit harder, as the festival had filled up the inns in the town. When they did eventually find one that had any open rooms, it only had three left. Temari demanded one for herself, as the only woman in the group. Gaara stated no objections to this and so it was left to those from Konoha to figure out how they wanted to divide the team.

It was eventually decided that Gaara would sleep in the same room as Neji and Shikamaru, while Kankuro would rest in the room that Kiba and Shino shared when he was relieved of guard duty. While it was a bit awkward for Neji to be spending time around the Kazekage, he knew that Shikamaru had visited with Gaara on several occasions. As they walked up to their respective rooms, he supposed he was more comfortable with Gaara than Kankuro. Kankuro had spoken more with Shino and Kiba more than anyone else from Konoha so it really all made sense in the end.

Once in their room, he was very tempted to simply lay out his futon and flop on to it to sleep. It had been so long since he’d last been this tired and he was still puzzled at where his strength had gone. Despite his desires, he instead knelt down by the window of their room, watching with lazy eyes as the streets bustled with the festival goers. He supposed he could have used less chakra when trying to weaken the barrier, but it was too late to be concerned about that. What was supposed to be a simple mission had turned into something so much more serious. There were those scrolls and the secrets they no doubt had written on them and how Akatsuki had wanted the information, which had led to Deidara’s capture. Neji let out a soft breath. What could possible happen next?

“Neji, take off the shirt.”

Blinking, Neji turned away from the window and looked at Shikamaru in utter confusion. Take off his shirt? What was the shadow nin saying? And in front of the Kazekage no less.

“What?”

“Take off the shirt,” the Nara repeated. He really hated doing that. “You’ll feel better once it’s off.”

Realization dawned in the Hyuuga’s eyes and he let out a soft amused breath at how confused he’d been. However, they weren’t alone in the room and he let his eyes slide over to Gaara, who was watching the exchange between them with slight confusion and interest. He doubted that normally the Kazekage would have reacted to the conversation, but Shikamaru hadn’t exactly phrased his ‘request’ in a normal manner either. Not only that, but there was issue of the shirt being an ANBU shirt, which like everything else ANBU, was top secret. “What about-”

Shikamaru let out a small breath before he turned his attention to Gaara. “Kazekage, I am a member of Konoha’s ANBU. Neji is currently wearing my chakra shirt. There, Neji. Now he knows. Off with the shirt.”

Gaara merely blinked while the Hyuuga stared at his friend in horror. “What are you doing?! That’s not-”

“I really highly doubt the Kazekage is going to care much if I’m part of ANBU or not,” the shadow nin interrupted, though all three knew that was not necessarily true. “It has little to do with him. No offense, Gaara.”

“None taken,” the Kazekage responded with a small, amused smile before he turned his attention to Neji. “It would be wise to take off the chakra shirt if it really belongs to him. As it’s attuned to his chakra, it will keep pulling at yours until you have nothing left.”

“What?” Neji asked, stunned with the information.

“That is one of the reasons why the material is only given to ANBU,” Gaara stated. “Once the shirt is tuned to the chakra of its owner, it can never be changed. If it makes you more comfortable, I will turn my back as you pull off the shirt.”

“That won’t be a problem,” the Hyuuga said quickly, pulling off his own shirt and the mesh underneath it quickly before searching for the hem of the shadow nin’s chakra shirt. He grunted as the movement pulled on his healing side, but otherwise made no other sounds as he pulled the shirt off. He waited for it to turn back to the dark color it had been before and watched in complete fascination as the cut from the kunai that had hit him earlier started to sew itself back together. He folded it carefully before handing it back to its owner, a little jealous that he didn’t have one of his own. It was a wonder that any of the villages had enough money to buy such amazing material.

“Hold it,” Shikamaru ordered as Neji reached for his own shirt again. “Let me see your cut.”

Shaking his head, the Hyuuga grabbed the bottom of his mesh undershirt. “It will be fine.”

The shadow nin scowled. “Drop your shirt, Neji. The last time you said you were fine, you collapsed. Not only that but I heard that grunt when you pulled off my chakra shirt. Let me see it.” Without waiting for a response, he settled down next to the older nin, a small first aid kit with the Nara family symbol on the box in his hand. Neji let out a huff before he relented, honestly quite honored to see that box. The Nara clan was known to have more potent medical supplies kept away for their own. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen this particular box, but the importance of such an act wasn’t lost on him.

As the Kazekage moved to lay out his futon, he couldn’t help but watch the other two shinobi from the corner of his eye. Shikamaru was carefully and almost tenderly treating Neji’s cut. His gaze drifted to the scar resting just above the older man’s heart and he had to think about where it had come from. Once he remembered, it made sense that the shadow nin was being so gentle. After all, he had been in charge of the mission that had led to the cause of that scar. Perhaps, in a sense, he was fighting to make sure that the Hyuuga’s new wound didn’t turn out to be a scar like the one on his shoulder.

Shikamaru was so focused on cleaning out the cut of any dirt and germs he didn’t notice the Kazekage’s attention. Instead, he merely kept his eyes locked on the cut that Neji had gotten, only pulling out the Nara clan’s healing ointment once he was satisfied with the cleaning process. The ointment inside the little jar was thick and creamy and he’d learned from personal experience that a little bit went a long way. The older shinobi hissed softly at the first touch, relaxing as the Nara soothed the sting with his gentle rubbing. It was...strangely therapeutic and both were very much enjoying the process.

Just as the shadow nin’s fingers were pressing the ointment into the back of the cut just above Neji’s hip, the door to their room slid open. Kiba paused at the scene before him before he got one of the biggest smirks on his face. “Not sleeping together my ass. And doing that in front of the Kazekage? You’re so bold, Shikamaru! You two going to share a futon tonight as well?”

Gaara’s eyes widened and he turned to fully look at the two nin he was sharing a room with. _What?_

For a moment there was nothing but silence. Gaara was clearly intrigued, Neji was exasperated, and Shikamaru didn’t seem to be bothered at all. At least, not at first. A second later one of the shadow nin’s eyebrows twitched before he turned a fully irritated side eye right at the dog nin. Kiba’s smirk wavered, just a tiny bit, but his pleased expression remained firm. Without a word, Shikamaru pulled his hand away from Neji, clearly done with his task, and wiped his fingers on a towel he had sitting nearby.

“Kiba,” the Nara said softly, turning his head to fully look the dog nin head on, “I am going to kill you.”

“Ha, good luck with that,” Kiba snickered. “Sleep tight, lovebirds!” Cackling with glee, he made a quick escape and closed the door, no doubt planning to share with Akamaru and Shino all that had just happened. Whatever he had come over for in the first place had clearly been forgotten.

“I apologize, Kazekage,” Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly before he reached for the bandage tape in his pack. “Kiba’s an idiot.”

There was silence for a long moment, Gaara merely watching as the shadow nin gently wrapped the bandages around Neji’s side. He said nothing until the man had just about finished. “Is it true?”

Both of the Konoha nin blinked before they turned their attention to the Kazekage. Shikamaru was almost hesitant to ask for clarification. “I’m sorry?”

Gaara remained impassive, if not curious. “Are the two of you sleeping together?”

Had it been anyone else, the shadow nin would have told them to shove off and mind their own business. With the Kazekage, however, it was clearly understood that he was still struggling with which concepts and subjects shouldn’t be breached just for the sake of curiosity or conversation. As Neji sighed and let his head rest against one of his hands, Shikamaru patiently cleared his throat. “No, Kazekage, we’re not.”

The simple answer was enough for Gaara and he nodded decisively before he went back to laying out his futon and blankets for the night. He said nothing else, just continued laying out his bed. The Nara finished wrapping up the Hyuuga’s wound, setting aside his supplies to put them away as the older nin pulled on his shirt. He was stopped by a pale hand and he looked up Neji confused. The older nin smirked before he reached for the cleansing jar within the kit.

“Your turn.”

“I’m fine,” Shikamaru argued.

“You were hurt too, Shikamaru,” Neji argued, casually opening the jar. “Not only that, but I was very limited on how much I was able to heal your wound. Now off with your shirt so I can tend to your shoulder.”

The shadow nin knew he wouldn’t be allowed to sleep if he didn’t let the Hyuuga have his way. With a weary sigh, he pushed the medical kit next to Neji before he pulled off his jounin vest, his shirt, and the mesh undershirt, lazily setting them aside in a messy pile as he waited. He flinched slightly when Neji began cleaning the cut, which apparently was deeper than either of them had previously thought, but otherwise he didn’t say anything. There was an advantage to having Neji look at this first. He wouldn’t have to deal with Ino, which was a nice thought.

The older nin took his time in cleansing the wound before he moved to the healing ointment, mixing in a tiny bit of his own healing chakra to speed up the process. A square bandage was all it took to cover the cut and once he was finished, Neji gently patted Shikamaru’s shoulder to signify that he was done. He carefully put the jars and bandages away, closing the first aid kit before sliding it to sit next to the Nara’s shirts. Once finished, he got up and moved to set out his own futon for the night.

Neji didn’t notice the way that Shikamaru touched his shoulder, a small grin on his face as he let his fingers linger there. He wiped it away when he noticed that Gaara was looking at him, a tiny smile of his own on his face. Oblivious to all of this, the Hyuuga finished laying his blankets over his futon and crawling underneath them, ready to simply fall asleep. He did feel a tiny bit better now that he wasn’t wearing his friend’s chakra shirt. By morning, he expected to be back to where he was used to being.

Shikamaru stated something about waking up to make sure they each had a turn to go and watch their captives, but Neji barely heard it. Now that he was lying down with a soft bed underneath him, he couldn’t focus on anything other than he wanted to sleep. It didn’t take long before he was completely out, sleeping peacefully before the shadow nin had even finished his thought. He would later find out that his friend had taken over his shift, allowing him to sleep peacefully through the entire night.


	9. Direction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I did not mean to let this story go so long without an update. I have had some very busy weekends for the past three weeks and haven't had any time to update this story. I haven't forgotten it, I promise. I've just been very busy.
> 
> Anyway, here's the next part of the story! I hope you'll enjoy it! And I'll try to get back on track with updates from now on!

“Did I not say that you were to _not_ engage this group if Akatsuki was involved?”

Neji glanced over at Shikamaru, who frowned. “It couldn’t be helped. We found out that Deidara was a contact when he showed up.”

Tsunade huffed with a frown. “I suppose I can let it go since all of you are fine and even managed to capture him.”

“We did not do it alone,” Neji stated, looking over at the Suna siblings who were standing not far from them in the Hokage’s new office. It had been finished while they’d been away. “The Kazekage and his aides were of great help.”

“I’m sure I’ll read about that in your report later,” the Hokage nodded as she sat back in her chair and looked over at Gaara. “On behalf of Konoha, I thank you for coming to the aid of my shinobi.”

“We are all part of the Alliance and we were allies before that,” the Kazekage responded. “Besides, I would not wish for Konoha to lose four of its best.”

Kiba’s chest puffed out with pride at the words, but otherwise the four teammates said nothing.

“Nonetheless, your intervention was and is appreciated,” Tsunade repeated. “Now these dolls that you recovered, according to Deidara they were crafted by Sasori?”

“Sasori’s seal is hidden, but it’s on the back of their necks,” Kankuro stated. “I confirmed that this morning before we came here.”

“Neji, you saw scrolls on the inside?” the Hokage asked, turning her attention back to her shinobi. “As well as exploding tags?”

“Yes,” Neji nodded. “Shikamaru believes that the scrolls could hold information that Sasori’s spies were able to gain about the villages they were in. Deidara didn’t directly confirm this, but some of his statements led us to further believe that is the case.”

Tsunade hummed softly. “Opening one of the latches causes the doll to explode?”

With a shake of his head, Shikamaru pulled one of the dolls from his bag and set it carefully on her desk. “Not if you hit the right latch. I asked Neji to look at the dolls before we traveled back. If you open the wrong latch, the doll will explode. Each doll actually has two latches that need to be released for the scroll to be pushed out. The second latch will trigger a delayed explosion, but from what he could see it looks as if it’s long enough to obtain the scroll before it explodes. Granted, the doll still explodes so we can’t just go opening the latches and ignoring that problem.”

Frowning, the Hokage lifted up the doll, checking out each of the latches. “Sasori must have had a plan to get this information without the dolls exploding. However, we don’t have time to figure out what that method would have been.”

Shino stepped forward after a moment of silence, the movement grabbing everyone’s attention. “Would it be possible to contain the blast? Or perhaps to throw the doll far enough away to avoid the blast once we’ve retrieved the scroll? If someone with enough strength could throw far enough away it before it explodes, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Humming softly, Shikamaru considered the plan. “It could work, but we don’t know how much area these tags cover. We’d need someone really strong.”

Kiba pipped up, tilting his head thoughtfully. “What about Sakura? Or maybe Lee?”

“Sakura is currently on another errand,” Tsunade responded. “However, Lee has been helping rebuild the Academy so he would be available to assist in this. Neji, I want you to take the dolls, find Lee, and then extract the scrolls inside of them. Do _not_ look at their contents. Only identify which village they belong to and then leave it. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Hokage.” That was an order he wouldn’t ever question. Each hidden village had secrets and he was not one who needed to know what those secrets were.

“Take Shikamaru with you,” Tsunade ordered, though there was a glint in her eyes that explained why she was giving the order, one that she knew the two of them would catch onto. “If these scrolls contain sensitive information, I want more shinobi guarding them without arousing suspicion.”

“You’ve got it,” Shikamaru shrugged. Apparently he knew exactly what the legendary Sannin healer wasn’t saying out loud.

“You’re all dismissed,” the Hokage said, relaxing into her chair. “Be sure to turn in your reports when you get a chance. Shikamaru, Neji, as soon as your done extracting those scrolls, I want them brought here immediately. No detours.”

Neji and Shikamaru nodded, the Nara grabbing his own bag while Neji retrieved the one that Shino had been holding. He promised to return the bags to the bug user as soon as they were finished. Any tool, whatever it was, was precious in the life of shinobi. As he followed his comrades out the door, he bowed his head politely to the Kazekage, but said nothing more to Gaara or his siblings. Kiba and Shino immediately began discussing the events of their mission as they made their way down the stairs of the finished Hokage building, Neji and Shikamaru following after them at a more sedate pace. Of course, Kiba turned and gave them a leering grin before he and Shino went a different way. They didn’t need to ask what it was about.

“He’s got the worst timing ever,” Shikamaru grumbled, no doubt referring to the previous night.

“Or the best, depending on how you wish to look at it,” Neji sighed.

“If this becomes a new rumor in the village, I really will kill him,” the Nara grumbled. “Guess we’ll deal with that if it comes though.”

“Hm,” the Hyuuga hummed softly. He was quiet for a moment, lost in his thoughts as they traveled through the streets. “Shikamaru...do you think it’s possible that one of these scrolls-”

“We’re not going to assume anything,” the shadow nin interrupted, eyes darting around to make sure that no one was listening in to their conversation. “We don’t know what Sasori’s spies were able to record. It could be outdated for all we know. We’ll just have to get the scrolls to the Hokage first so she can let us know if there’s anything there we need to know.”

It didn’t take long to locate Lee and once they’d explained to him his task, the three set out to some of the more secluded training grounds, making sure that no one was using them. Lee was quite thrilled with the challenge and was making little goals to himself of just how far he could throw the dolls into the air. Neji ignored the self imposed challenges and punishments that filtered out of his friend and rival’s mouth, waiting until Lee was finished before he reached for one of the dolls resting in the bag he’d been carrying. Activating his Byakugan he held it up, studying the inside of it before handed it over to the shadow nin.

“You’ll open the first latch,” the Hyuuga stated. “Once that’s done I will open the second, retrieve the scroll, and then pass the doll to Lee.”

“Sounds good. Just tell me which one,” Shikamaru nodded.

Despite the potential threat to their lives, Neji was impressed with how smoothly the entire process was going. Shikamaru was quick in releasing his latch before passing the doll to Neji. Releasing the second latch and retrieving the scroll inside proved to be a bit trickier than the Hyuuga had expected, but as soon as the scroll was in hand, the doll was tossed to Lee, who threw it as hard as he could into the air. The explosions were smaller than any of them had expected, but they continued to quickly and effectively remove each doll of its contents. It wouldn’t do to slip up and get one of them injured.

As each scroll was removed, Neji would flip open the edge of it, just enough to see what village the scroll belonged to. As the process continued, he came upon one that belonged to Konoha and the first subject right underneath the name caught his eyes. He tried not to stare at it, but the words _Uchiha Massacre details_ were a bit hard to ignore. He calmly closed the scroll, setting it aside as his mind began to buzz. It couldn’t be possible, could it? Things didn’t simply pop out of nowhere that easily. However, Sasori’s spies had been given several years to dig up information. Why would they choose to share the information about the Uchiha massacre?

Once all the scrolls had been retrieved and the dolls were no more, Shikamaru nodded his thanks to the spandex wearing shinobi. “Thanks for the help, Lee.”

“I am glad that I could be of service, Shikamaru!” Lee beamed, placing his fists on his hips. “Shall I help you carry these scrolls back to the Hokage’s office?”

“Yes, that would be appreciated,” Neji replied, locking his eyes meaningfully with the Nara. The silent message was easily received and the shadow nin gave him a single nod in reply. “I’ll take care of Konoha’s.”

“Then I shall be in charge of those belonging to Suna and Iwa,” Lee exclaimed, smiling and giving the two of them his classic ‘nice guy’ pose.

“Kumo’s and Kiri’s for me then,” Shikamaru said, rolling his shoulders. “Let’s go then.”

Once back at the Hokage’s building, Tsunade looked pleased at how quickly the task had been completed, giving them a small, pleased grin when they had walked into her office. “Well done. Have you identified which villages the scrolls belong to?”

Neji nodded. “Yes. Only the villages of the five great nations seemed to have been Sasori’s targets, at least with these dolls. There are two scrolls for each village.”

Lee took the initiative then. He set down the scrolls for Iwagakure down on the Hokage’s desk before turning towards Gaara, who was standing just to the side. He beamed at the Kazekage as he lifted both of his hands, the scrolls for Suna held tightly in each one. “These are the scrolls that contain information about Sunagakure, Kazekage. The details inside have not been been compromised! They are for your eyes only!”

Gaara grinned lightly and took the scrolls from Lee, nodding his head thanks. “Thank you. I trust your word.”

With a salute, Lee stood ramrod straight. “I would not lie to the Kazekage!”

Tsunade cleared her throat, bringing the attention in the room back to herself, though she was clearly amused by the taijutsu master’s antics. “Kazekage, I believe that there’s nothing else for us to discuss today so I believe we can leave the official business here. I will call for you when the rest of the other Kages arrive to fully lay out all the information that we’ve gained from Uchiha Itachi. Right now, however, I need to get in touch with the Tsuchikage about Deidara’s capture. I’m sure he’ll want to get his hands on him sooner than later.”

Gaara pocketed the scrolls in his hand. “I agree. I will go meet with Temari and Kankuro to let them know of our plans.”

“Lee, please escort the Kazekage wherever he’d like to go,” the Hokage ordered. When Gaara looked ready to protest, she shook her head with a sad smirk. “I know you could easily find your way around, but for the sake of my villagers, they would be more comfortable if they were to see you walking around with one of Konoha’s shinobi. Some have been...unwilling to forget what happened during the chuunin exams years ago. It’s also partially for your own protection as well.”

“I see,” the Kazekage stated softly, though the words clearly brought him some guilt. He was not a stranger to fear, but that didn’t mean he was happy with the reactions he still got.

“Come, Kazekage,” Lee exclaimed, smiling as if a challenge had suddenly presented itself. “I will help you dispel such thoughts from Konoha! My youthful spirit would let me do no less!”

Gaara chuckled, the sound foreign yet pleasant all the same. “I will accept your offer. Until we speak again, Hokage.” He nodded his head to Neji and Shikamaru before he left the room, Lee close on his heels and speaking animatedly.

Shikamaru smirked as he looked over at Tsunade. “Clever, sending Lee with him. It’ll only boost his humanity in the public eye more if he’s seen walking around with the nin he almost crushed years ago.”

The Hokage snorted, acting innocent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She let out a soft breath after a few seconds, once again becoming serious. “I know you’ll both be writing up a report later, but I’d like to hear about this mission right away. I have gotten the Kazekage’s side after he and his siblings showed up, but let’s start from when you left Konoha. And don’t spare me the details.”

Neji let Shikamaru do most of the talking, only interjecting when he felt that something needed to be said and his friend hadn’t shared it yet. Of course, none of the incidents with Kiba and themselves were mentioned. That wasn’t useful in any way and neither of them wanted the Hokage to place bets on that rumor, should it ever hit the rumor mill. She was known to enjoy the village gossip. Besides, if Kiba had his way and he was able to start spreading information, no matter how twisted or skewed it might be, it would reach her ears eventually.

Once the tale was finished, Tsunade frowned thoughtfully. “It’s good that you were able to find the group so quickly. Otherwise those scrolls would have fallen into Deidara’s hands. I don’t want to imagine the damage that could have caused for the Alliance. What of the woman you mentioned?”

“She seemed to be an unwilling victim,” Neji stated, “though Shikamaru and I are both agreed that it wouldn’t hurt to have her watched for a while.”

“We left her at the town we met her in,” Shikamaru added. “I’m still not sure how she ended up being in contact with the rogue nin, but I didn’t get the feeling she was hiding anything.”

“I’ll take that into consideration,” the Hokage stated. “However, our preparations for war take priority. Still, this mission seems to have saved us and the Alliance more trouble. It still bothers me that Sasori had a spy within Konoha, but something that has been...inconclusive for years now has most likely come to a close.”

“What do you mean?” the shadow nin asked.

Tsunade twisted her chair, letting her look outside one of her windows. “Three years ago, just after the report of Sasori’s death, one of the village council’s loyal ANBU deserted without a word. We were able to capture him, but he committed suicide before we could bring him back for interrogations. Sasori’s death and those scrolls line up a little too well with all the details we have on this ANBU for us to ignore all of it. For all we know, however, he could have planned to take the information straight to Akatsuki or sell it to the highest bidder.”

Neji was confused. “That was over three years ago...”

The Hokage hummed softly in agreement. “We’ve been searching and hunting for the unknown facts for that long. These scrolls could be the missing link between him and Sasori that we need to finally close that case. I, for the time being, am going to assume that he was Sasori’s spy. I could be wrong and perhaps he was working on his own, but the events tie together too well in my opinion. Now, when you were identifying which villages the scrolls belonged to, did you happen to see anything on Konoha’s that needs to be addressed right away? I know I ordered you not to look, but accidents happen.”

Glancing over at Shikamaru, Neji cleared his throat when he was given an encouraging nod. “On one of the scrolls, Hokage, I believe I saw something pertaining to the mission that you gave us earlier.”

Tsunade turned her chair to face him, pinning him down with her gaze. “Are you sure?”

Nodding, the Hyuuga remained still. “Yes.”

Slowly pushing herself up from her desk, the Hokage walked over to the center of her office, her eyes distant as she thought over what he had said. She was quiet for several minutes, which made Neji look over at his friend, who shrugged in response. He had no idea what was running through her head.

“Neji, Shikamaru, I’m going to leave the scrolls belonging to Konoha in your hands,” Tsunade stated softly, indicating that she wanted this to be taken care of as discreetly as possible. Still, she had to make it almost like an official order for any unwelcome ears that might be listening in. “With your brains combined, I believe you’ll be able to not only take apart the information inside of them, but hopefully come up with any solutions that may be necessary. Whatever plans or strategies need to be made, I will leave it up to the two of you.”

“Are you sure this isn’t something that would be better suited for someone else with more authority and experience?” Neji asked, playing the part of a concerned shinobi. He understood the act for what it was. It would be suspicious of Tsunade to put up a sound barrier, something that might, if nothing else, bring unwanted attention come their way.

“Even if it is, I can always go over whatever plans you two come up with a council later,” the Hokage argued. “Besides, if any of the information can help you with the other mission I’ve assigned to you, then there’s no reason I should not let you go over it first.” It was left unsaid that if someone else were to read it first, they might lose whatever information was in the scrolls forever.

“You’re going to get scolded,” Shikamaru stated with half a grin.

“Let them scold me,” Tsunade smirked. “You two just focus on reading those scrolls.”

Shikamaru sighed heavily. “No rest for the weary.”

Chuckling, the Hokage collected the scrolls the belonged to the other villages and stored them in one of the drawers in her desk, sealing it shut with a blood seal. If someone wanted to get to those scrolls, they would have to injure her or kill her to get to them. “Your skill and intellect are very highly valued, Shikamaru. I have no doubt that with the two of you combined could devise plans and strategies better than an entire council.”

The Nara snorted. “I don’t know if I should be annoyed or pleased.”

Tsunade grinned and chuckled again. “Alright, enough of that now. You can start reading those scrolls tomorrow. For now, decide on how the two of you will keep them secure and then head home. It’s late and I’m sure the two of you are tired after all the traveling and having to deal with those dolls. You’re both dismissed.”

Shikamaru grabbed the Konoha scrolls from her desk, nodded his head to the Hokage, and headed for the door. Neji bowed low to her before following after him. Once outside of her office, he let out a soft, silent breath. So much had happened in the past two weeks. Itachi’s surrender, their mission to find details on the Uchiha massacre, the additional mission which had led to the collection of possible secret information and Deidara’s capture. Now, to top it all off, they were to read through said secret information that could possibly give them insight to some of the inner workings of Konoha.

Neji’s brain was starting feel like it was going to explode. He needed a break.

“Hey, Neji, how about dinner?”

Neji looked over at Shikamaru, who was stretching his arms over his head casually. “Dinner?”

“Yeah, dinner,” the Nara grinned. “I’ll pay.”

The Hyuuga raised a brow. “Why?”

With a shrug, the shadow nin continued walking lazily. However, there was a stiffness to his shoulders that wasn’t normal. Perhaps he too was feeling a bit stressed out? “You seem tense, like you could use a break. Dinner with a friend is usually a good way of doing that, right?”

It wasn’t something unusual. Shikamaru had done this before, at times when Neji had been particularly stressed or irritated over something in his life. It always worked too, to help him relax and not focus on the things that were bothering him. The shadow nin always seemed to know when he needed it the most as well. Smiling softly, he couldn’t help but feel an immense sense of gratitude wash over him. Shikamaru always did so much to help him. Was he even half as helpful towards his friend?

“That it is. Dinner sounds wonderful.” Perhaps, in some way, offering to help Neji free his mind did something similar for Shikamaru. He could hope that was the case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I still love the fact it's a damn date and Neji hasn't realized it yet. Long game, Shika, long game." - Comment from my beta that I had to share. haha


	10. Minor Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here's the next bit! I hope you'll enjoy it! My beta said it gave her fuzzy feelings, so I'm hoping it does the same for the rest of you. haha Happy reading!

“Great,” Shikamaru grinned before he lifted the scrolls in his hands, “but first, we’ve got to put these somewhere safe. Mind if we stop at my apartment first?”

Neji shook his head. “Of the places we have access to, it’s probably the best.”

The apartment complex they headed to was just as new as the rest of the buildings in Konoha. The exception to this one, however, is that only ninjaand their families lived there. While most apartments were owned by individuals, it was not an uncommon practice for clans to rent or purchase an apartment or two. Especially clans that were not in the center of the city. Shikamaru’s family was a perfect example of this, as the Nara clan’s section was located on the edge of the village borders. Having an apartment for someone to stay in who needed quick access to the center of the village was almost a necessity.

Of course, with the rebuilding of Konoha, clans had held off on putting their names on any apartments until all of the civilians had been placed in new homes. Once that had been taken care of, individual shinobi who didn’t belong to a clan had come next. Apartment buildings had gone up far faster than anyone had expected, however, and it wasn’t very long before clans could claim the remaining apartments for themselves. The Nara clan had been one of the first to jump on the opportunity.

So as it was, Shikamaru’s apartment wasn’t really his. Yes, he planned to live there when he wasn’t on missions (his acceptance of more assistant-like duties required him to be close to Hokage’s building), but the owner of the apartment was technically the Nara clan’s head. Of course, that just happened to be Shikamaru’s father. Regardless, Shikamaru had made the place his own and no one but him and his parents had keys to the place. It was ideal for him and his situation, something that very few would try to argue.

Neji followed after his friend as they climbed the stairs to the top of the building, thinking about how much the city had grown since Pain’s attack. As he stood at the top waiting for Shikamaru to open the door to his apartment, he looked out over the part of the city that they could see. The sun had fully set and lights were flickering on as the night grew closer. It wasn’t the city he’d grown up in, but there was an almost inexplicable fondness in his chest as he watch more and more of the lights appear.

He would never admit it out loud, but he really liked the view from here, or from the balcony of shadow nin’s apartment. It was a no-brainer that Shikamaru had selected the place for its location and not for the view, but Neji couldn’t deny that he secretly loved the advantages. If it were in his control, he’d come here more often, for both the view and the company that the apartment’s owner could offer. However, Shikamaru was rarely home, considering all the duties he had, and it was hardly normal for someone to visit while the owner of the place wasn’t home.

As they walked into the apartment, Shikamaru paused just inside the door to slip off his sandals, making sure that a set of slippers were set out for Neji before he walked into the living room. Neji made sure to close the door firmly behind him before he took of his sandals as well, grateful for the slippers. Shikamaru might not have an issue walking on hardwood floors barefooted, but Neji liked to have something on his feet. He followed after his friend to his bedroom, knowing exactly where the shadow nin was going to store the scrolls.

“I taught you the seals, right?” Shikamaru asked as he pulled a solid chest out from a secret compartment underneath his bed.

“You did,” Neji answered. “However, I would never come here without you, so I’m not sure why I need to know them.”

“You never know,” the shadow nin grinned as he placed the scrolls inside the chest, sealing it shut, and then sliding it back into the compartment. “I could be called away for something else. You’d need to study the scrolls without me.”

“If and only then,” the older nin responded. “I’d have to go to your father for the spare key though and that would be a bit awkward.”

“Meh, he’d probably hand them over without a word,” Shikamaru snorted as he got to his feet. “Any preferences for dinner?”

Shaking his head, Neji stepped outside of his friend’s room and back towards the front door. “No. You offered to pay, so it only makes sense that you get to choose where we go.”

The Nara sighed and lifted his arms behind his head. “You know, just because I make decisions all the time doesn’t mean I like to.”

Chuckling, the older nin stepped outside once his sandals were on, waiting patiently as Shikamaru did the same. “You know that I don’t have any particular likes or dislikes where food is concerned.”

The shadow nin nodded. “Yeah, I know. Guess that means you’re stuck with whatever I choose.”

Neji grinned. “I believe I’ll survive.”

Their conversation was light and casual as they walked to the restaurant of Shikamaru’s choice. It was exactly what he had needed. There was no deep thinking, no worrying about making a wrong decision. His friend looked as if he were enjoying the break as well, though the tension he had noticed earlier was still lingering in the shadow nin’s shoulders and back. It was something that he had seen before, but perhaps only once or twice. Never long enough to try and ascertain the source of it. Not that it stopped him from trying.

The meal itself was simple, quiet, and enjoyable. While not the fanciest place in Konoha, Shushu-ya had never failed to deliver an enjoyable meal. There were plenty of options to choose from and sharing with Shikamaru was easy. Neither were too greedy over one particular item. For most of the meal, things seemed to be no different than they normally were between the two of them. Yet as they neared the end of the meal, he noticed that the tension in Shikamaru’s shoulders had gotten tighter, to the point that he could see how uncomfortable his friend was.

“Shikamaru, are you alright?” Neji asked softly, his concern showing on his face.

“Huh? Ah, yeah,” the Nara answered, nodding distractedly.

“I’d rather you not lie to me,” the older nin frowned.

That made the shadow nin pause for a few moments before he let out a soft breath. “I’ll pay for dinner. We’ll...talk outside.”

Nodding slowly, Neji waved to their waiterto let her know they were done. The sooner they finished, the sooner his friend would hopefully share what was on his mind. The young man brought their bill and Neji offered to pay for his portion, but Shikamaru waved it off, placing what was owed before getting out of his seat. Following suit, the older nin thanked the waiter on their way out, making sure to keep an eye on the shadow nin as they walked. The tension seemed to increase as soon as they were outside and the Hyuuga frowned, unable to stop his concern from growing.

“Shikamaru?”

The Nara stopped in his tracks, turning around to face him. It was sudden and he had to dig his toes a little harder into the ground to stop himself from bumping into the younger nin. Without a word, Shikamaru looked over at a nearby alleyway, motioning with his head towards it. Neji followed after him silently, more concerned than he had ever been with his friend. It was so unlike him, to be this quiet and stiff. The alleyway was dark and despite everything being so new, the shadows seemed to be thicker here, filled with secrets. The Nara did seem to relax a bit, however, once he was enveloped by them.

“What’s going on, Shikamaru?” Neji asked softly once they’d come to a stop. “Talk to me.”

“Neji...” Shikamaru started, but couldn’t seem to finish. His gaze was darting everywhere but where the older nin was standing. “It’s...” He let out a sharp breath when no other words followed, clearly irritated with himself.

“Is this something that would be easier to show me?” the Hyuuga asked. It wasn’t often, but he had come to know that sometimes what the Nara really wanted to say was best done through his actions. He was beginning to believe that this was one of those times.

The question seemed to finally jar Shikamaru out of his indecisiveness. His eyes locked with Neji’s and something flashed behind them. Silently, the Nara stepped forward, lifted a hand to Neji’s cheek, and paused for only a moment before he leaned forward to press a feather light kiss against his lips. It was barely there, nothing more than a simple brush. Neji’s eyes widened with shock, and he watched as his friend slowly stepped back. Unease and uncertainty were so very easy to read on his face.

“I like you,” Shikamaru said softly, though his voice was firm and sure. He knew how he felt and it was terrifying to share his feelings, but he wasn’t going to let that get in the way.

Neji was stunned into silence. Shikamaru had just kissed him. It had been very light, but it was undeniably a kiss. He hadn’t been expecting it at all and, while it certainly wasn’t something he was used to, it hadn’t been unpleasant. But on top of the kiss was his confession. Had...had he just said that he liked him? And surely he meant that in the way of a romantic nature and not as friends. Friends didn’t kiss each other like that. Neji’s head was spinning with what had just happened and he wasn’t entirely sure how to react.

His silence, however, was beginning to take a toll on the shadow nin. Shikamaru swallowed softly, his eyes dropping to stare at the ground. He brought up a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it nervously as he waited for a response, for a reaction, for anything. Honestly, he’d be happy with a punch or something. It was better than the shocked silence and lack of reaction. It didn’t take very long before his heart sank in his chest and he let out a defeated sigh. The silence had become too much. It felt like a rejection and he wasn’t sure he could handle that right now.

“I’m going to go home. You don’t have to come by tomorrow. I’ll take care of the scrolls myself.”

The words pulled Neji out of his thoughts and the dejection in the shadow nin’s voice helped him refocus. As the Nara began to walk away from him, he could only describe the feeling he felt as panicked. “Wait, Shikamaru-”

The younger nin stopped, but he didn’t turn to look back at him. When he didn’t say anything or move, the Hyuuga briefly licked his lips and took a steadying breath. “Let’s talk. In private?”

With a casual shrug of his shoulders, Shikamaru nodded and some of the tension seemed to slip away. “Sure.”

Almost tentatively, Neji began to walk forward, as if he were afraid of scaring the shadow nin away. When he realized what he was doing, he mentally growled at himself and made his steps more firm. His friend wasn’t a small animal that was going to bolt away at the first sign of trouble. They’d been friends too long for him to treat the younger nin that way. Once he was standing at his side, he looked over at the Nara, who seemed intent on not meeting his eyes. Shikamaru’s sudden lack of confidence was not something he liked.

“Your apartment?” Neji suggested, his tone soft and questioning.

Shikamaru didn’t respond at first. In fact, he didn’t say anything at all. It was relieving when he finally got a nod in response. If the Nara hadn’t wanted to go to his apartment, Neji wasn’t sure what he would have suggested otherwise. The Hyuuga compound was _not_ the sort of place you went to for private conversations and going to a hotel would have possibly given the wrong impression. He watched as the shadow nin made the seals for the ANBU transportation jutsu, glancing in his direction to see if he was ready to go. Apparently he didn’t want to take his time walking.

Quietly, Neji let his hand fall onto one of Shikamaru’s forearms, gripping it gently as he waited. Once the final seal was made, there seemed to be a rush of air and the next thing he knew, they were standing in the Nara’s living room. Letting his hand slide away, the older nin quickly took off his sandals, walking over to the entryway to place them on the rack near the door and to find the light switch. He didn’t necessarily like the idea of trying to have what was no doubt going to be a serious conversation in the dark.

When he turned on the lights, he could see that Shikamaru hadn’t moved from his spot, his hands still raised from making the seals. He was staring at the floor, quiet and brooding, as if he was wishing that it would open up and swallow him. Neji took in a deep breath walking back over to where his friend was standing. He couldn’t stand to see the younger nin acting this way.

“Shikamaru-”

“Would you like a glass of water?” Shikamaru asked suddenly, turning his head, but still not looking Neji in the eye. “I’ll go-”

“Shikamaru, stop,” the Hyuuga ordered with a frown. “You’re avoiding the issue. It’s not like you.”

The shadow nin let out a soft, sad chuckle. “Actually, I’m pretty sure avoiding things _is_ like me.”

Grinning slightly, for humor was something he was used to, Neji moved to sit down on one of his friend’s sofas. “I would happily argue that point, but it can wait for another time. Sit with me?”

He looked up at Shikamaru expectantly, hoping that the invitation didn’t seem forceful or demanding. He seemed to be debating the choice but eventually the shadow nin did as had been offered, though he sat on the far side of the sofa so he didn’t make Neji uncomfortable. Everything he did was stiff and almost forced. It was so unlike him to be this way and just watching made the Hyuuga want to brush it all away. He honestly was more concerned about his friend’s well being than about the kiss he’d received not long ago.

“Talk to me,” Neji stated, doing his best to look relaxed. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“Talking. Right,” Shikamaru sighed, leaning forward onto his knees. He stared at his coffee table for a moment, clearly trying to organize his thoughts. When he finally moved again, it was to look the old nin directly in the eyes with a clear resolve. There was fear, yes, but also determination. “I meant what I said earlier.”

“You have never lied to me, so I never doubted that,” the older nin replied. He sat quietly for a moment, letting what he’d just said fully process in his mind before he asked his first question. “For how long?”

Blinking, the Nara stared at him for a moment, as if he’d been expecting something else. He swallowed softly after a few seconds and cleared his throat, looking out over his living room. “I don’t...know exactly when. It might have been a couple of years after we started playing shogi together. When I really noticed it... Do you remember the mission we had with Naruto and Tenten? The one where Naruto almost became a scratching post?”

Unable to stop an amused grin, Neji nodded. “Yes, I do. That was one of the better parts of that mission. The leopard seemed particularly fond of him.”

The shadow nin let out a breathy laugh. “Yeah, it did.” He twined his fingers together tightly before he continued. “Ah, on the way back we stopped at a hot springs.”

The Hyuuga let out a soft hum. “We played shogi in our room for at least two hours. It was very enjoyable.”

“It was after our games,” Shikamaru said, his eyes softening as he remembered and a small grin spread across his face. “You walked out onto the patio of our room. The moon was full and sky was completely free of clouds. You looked...ethereal with your hair down.” He flushed as soon as the words were out of his mouth and he coughed before rubbing his neck. “I-It was then. I knew then.”

“That was almost two years ago,” Neji stated softly, though he could feel his own cheeks heating up. To hear how his friend had seen him that night was a little embarrassing.

“Yeah,” the Nara nodded. “I thought at first that it was a fluke. Some weird emotional thing and I kept hoping that it would go away. I didn’t want to change anything between us or ruin our friendship. But...it didn’t go away and it just kept building up.”

“What made you decide to tell me?” It was strange asking these questions. He didn’t even feel like he needed the answers, that he’d already come to a conclusion.

Shikamaru didn’t answer for a minute, just stared ahead. Finally, he let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. “Back at the first inn...when we shared the futon.” The shadow nin blushed a bit again and shifted slightly in his seat. “Waking up next you that morning was... I didn’t...want it to be a one time thing.”

Letting the following silence linger, Neji let his mind go back to that moment, to how he’d felt. Yes, he’d been unused to it, but he had far from hated it. Really, before Kiba had barged into the room, he had actually been content. Shikamaru, too, had looked so happy, so pleased that morning now that he reflected on it. Suddenly something clicked and all of his unruly thoughts froze in place. That happiness that he’d seen and knowing that he was the cause of it...he liked that. A lot. And he wanted it to happen again. He had to wonder if...he was feeling the same thing that the shadow nin was.

He wanted a repeat of the kiss too if he thought about it.

“Maybe...it doesn’t have to be a one time thing?” Neji offered softly, glancing over at Shikamaru, suddenly feeling very nervous.

Watching as his friend slowly opened his eyes, he resisted the urge to fidget. The shadow nin looked over at him, shock on his face and looking almost as if he’d seen a ghost. “What?”

Neji took a turn to stare down at the coffee table in front of him. Attraction was not something new to him. He’d found several men in the past very attractive (women had never been a temptation) and Shikamaru was definitely listed among them. Yet there was something different with his attraction towards the Nara. Something that he hadn’t ever been able to put a finger on. Just that he had wanted more and any chance he’d gotten to spend time with his friend had seemed to fill that desire, but only for that moment. Something inside of him never seemed to be satisfied. Maybe this...was what he had really wanted.

He hesitated for a moment, trying to put what he was thinking into words. “It’s...There are lines with friendships. Lines that I’m sure I’ve crossed with you. But whenever I try to find them, to see if I’m pushing those boundaries, they seem to just disappear. I think...I mean, I feel as if...”

Shikamaru continued to stare at the Hyuuga as he fumbled with his words. When he could see that the older nin wasn’t going to say more, he licked his lips lightly and swallowed before he posed a question. “Can I... May I kiss you again?”

Neji shifted almost nervously in his seat and nodded. Perhaps this was another one of those moments when actions could get across what words couldn’t. He didn’t move as the shadow nin drew closer or when trembling fingers pressed against his jaw. He let them turn his head, till he was facing Shikamaru and he flushed slightly when he realized just how close they were. Part of him wanted to move forward, but the rest of him sat frozen, waiting and unsure of what he was supposed to do. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Shikamaru leaned in and pressed their lips together, far firmer this time.

Closing his eyes, Neji focused on the feel of his friend’s lips, of the feeling that was rushing through him. It felt good. Really good. He liked this a lot. Indulgence wasn’t something he did very often (he’d been raised to abstain from that), but he found that this was something he could very easily come to crave. He pushed back a little, wanting to express that he wanted more and wasn’t disappointed. Shikamaru pressed closer, his hand sliding back to cup a fair cheek as he poured more of his feelings into where they were connected.

The kiss was chaste yet full of powerful emotions. Neji hummed when Shikamaru’s other hand came to curl around the side of his neck. His own hands fluttered uncertainly for a moment before he opted to rest them on the shadow nin’s shoulders, curling slightly into his vest. Encouraged, the Nara pulled him even closer, his thumbs slowly stroking whatever skin they could touch. It surpassed whatever the older nin had been expecting. He’d never imagined he’d be this close to Shikamaru and yet it all felt so perfectly in place.

When Shikamaru pulled back, he was breathing a little heavier and his fingers were still shaking a bit, but the smile that spread across his face was breathtaking. Neji opened his eyes just as the smile filled the Nara’s face and he let out a soft amused breath at the sight. Whatever tension had been lingering in the shadow nin’s shoulders and back were completely gone. He felt content, as the Nara pressed his forehead against his hitai-ate. His hands also slid away from Neji’s neck and cheek, slipping down until they hovered over his waist and then settling there.

Neji grinned slightly, feeling elated at the smile that was on Shikamaru’s face. “You’re not tense anymore.”

The Nara let out a breathy laugh, still smiling grandly. “Ah, I get it. You did all this just to get me to relax. So mean.”

With a snort, the older nin smirked. “Yes, that was my plan all along.” He let the feeling that surrounded them settle in, slowly lifting his eyes to meet with the Nara’s own. “Better?”

“Much,” the shadow nin replied, leaning forward for another kiss.

He met no resistance. Neji welcomed it, letting his hands move until his arms were wrapped around Shikamaru’s neck and shoulders. This, of course, was taken as an invitation and the younger nin push in closer, one arm coming to wrap around the Hyuuga’s waist while his other hand came to rest against middle of the older nin’s back. This kiss was far more confident and Neji couldn’t stop himself from humming happily as he was pushed back against the arm of the couch. It all felt so good and he wondered if it felt just as nice to the shadow nin.

Either way, he could _easily_ get used to this.

This kiss lasted much longer than the first two, but eventually Shikamaru pulled away, his eyes filled with happiness. “Could do that all night.”

Neji chuckled softly, feeling a pleasant, relaxed buzz through his entire body. “I wouldn’t stop you.”

The Nara raised a brow. “That’s not a good thing. We’d never get anything done.”

Snorting, Neji gave him a smirk. “The Hokage would not be pleased.”

“Neji, you’re...okay with this?” Shikamaru asked suddenly, a hint of nervousness in his tone.

“I am,” Neji answered quickly to brush away any lingering doubts. “I wouldn’t let you kiss me if I didn’t want it, you know.” He smiled gently, relaxing at the feel of being in someone’s arms.

“I just don’t want you to feel like you need to agree to this,” the Nara stated. “That I pressured you into it.”

“And when have I ever let myself be pressured into doing something I did not want to do?” the older nin retorted with a slight scowl. “I _want_ this, Shikamaru. With you. I can’t...fully put it into words, but I do.”

Sighing softly, the shadow nin smirked as he scratched the back of his head. “Sorry. Thanks. I know this isn’t like me to be so timid.”

The Hyuuga nodded in agreement. “No, it’s not. Go back to the lazy you who plays shogi with me and stares at the clouds whenever he gets a chance.”

Shaking his head, Shikamaru let go of the Hyuuga and sat up straight. “Sorry, can’t do that. I’m going to be stealing kisses whenever I can.”

Neji grinned teasingly, pushing himself back into a sitting position as well. “I supposed I’ll just have to accept that. Troublesome.”

“Hey, that’s my line.”

It made both of them chuckle, how easy it was to slip back into what was normal for them, what they were used to. Something had changed, yes, but it felt like a good change and that their relationship was only going to get better from this point forward. Neji personally didn’t feel concerned. Yes, he was still a little hesitant with the physical affection that he wasn’t used to, but he couldn’t think of anyone else that he’d rather discover those little pleasures with. Shikamaru understood him better than anyone else he’d ever met.

Shikamaru grinned as their laughter settled, twisting around and laying back onto the couch, his head falling in Neji’s lap as he did so. “I could get used to this.”

“I imagine so,” Neji replied, looking down at the younger nin. He was still a little stunned at how comfortable he was with all that had just happened. “There aren’t any clouds for you to stare at though.”

“Don’t need them,” the shadow nin stated seriously, staring straight at him with a smirk.

For a brief moment, he was confused. When the Nara’s smirk grew, it clicked and he flushed slightly when he realized what the shadow nin had meant. “Idiot,” he murmured, though the happiness radiating from Shikamaru made it hard to really be irritated.

Chuckling, the younger nin’s smirk bloomed into a small smile and he lifted a hand to brush his fingers against the Hyuuga’s cheek. “Stay the night? You’ll just have to come over tomorrow anyway to go over those scrolls.”

Neji raised a brow and gave the other nin an amused grin. “What a sound argument. How long have you been practicing that one?”

Shikamaru’s eyes twinkled. “I’m not telling you.”

“I’ll stay,” Neji answered. “Then we’re going over those scrolls first thing in the morning.”

“Come on,” the Nara frowned, his hand dropping back down to his stomach. “Can’t we sleep in?”

“Why do I get the feeling that you do that as often as you can already? And that waking you up tomorrow isn’t going to be easy?” the older nin asked. “No, we won’t be sleeping in.”

“Fine, fine,” the shadow nin huffed, sitting up. “You’re too hardworking.”

“One of us has to be,” Neji countered.

Shikamaru grinned as he pushed himself up from the Hyuuga’s lap and onto his feet. He stretched his arms behind his backand motioned with his head towards his bedroom. The older nin got up and followed, though there was a little apprehension about sleeping in the same bed. It would be different this time, considering the shift in their relationship? As he walked into the bedroom, the shadow nin went around his apartment, to make sure that all the lights were off. When he came into the room, his sandals were gone and he shrugged off his vest before tossing it into a corner of the room. Neji rolled his eyes and picked it up, dusting it off before he walked over the closet to find a hanger to put it on.

“I’m just going to need it later,” the Nara said, watching Neji slowly.

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care of it properly,” the Hyuuga responded, unsure as he hung up the vest as to how much of his own clothing he should remove. He wasn’t going to sleep fully clothed, but stripping down to his underwear was not something he was quite ready to do just yet, in front of anyone. He finally decided to remove his shirt, but to leave the protective mesh shirt underneath it on. He also removed the apron from around his waist and folding them both neatly, hung them on a hanger in the closet.

When he turned back towards Shikamaru, he found the man staring at him, nearly frozen in place. He frowned slightly as he brought his hair over his shoulder to undo the tie at the base. “What?”

The Nara cleared his throat. “Not what I expected to see underneath your shirt.”

Neji raised a brow. “You couldn’t expect me to wear nothing underneath it.”

With a sharp, short cough, the shadow nin headed towards the bed and pulled down the covers. “Not what I meant.”

Allowing the confusion to show on his face, the Hyuuga pushed his hair back over his shoulder, before subconsciously reaching up for his hitai-ate. He paused just before he undid the knot, glad when he realized that he had wrapped bandages around his seal in the morning. As he made his way over to Shikamaru’s bed, he carefully set his things down on the bedside table next to it. The shadow nin was already laying in bed, relaxed and waiting for Neji to join him.

“Kiba won’t walk in this time,” the Nara grinned when he saw the older nin hesitating. “I’ll seriously kill him if he manages to get into my apartment.”

“Not if I beat you to it,” Neji countered, slowly crawling onto the mattress before sliding underneath the covers. He stiffened when Shikamaru wiggled a little closer to him, but he quickly let out a puff of air in annoyance with himself. This wasn’t a big deal. They were just sleeping.

“Would you turn off the light?” Shikamaru asked, yawning and rolling on his side to face the older nin.

The Hyuuga nodded and reached out to pull the switch on the small lamp that was next to his things, glad for the distraction. He felt more comfortable once the room fell under a blanket of darkness and he settled onto his back, relaxing into the bed. There was plenty of space on this mattress, compared to the futon that he and the shadow nin had shared. He wondered if tomorrow morning would play out the same as the one they’d shared a couple days ago. He then wondered if he wanted it to.

Several minutes passed by and he was no closer to falling asleep. He nearly jumped with a shadow danced on the edge of his vision. Gentle fingers stroked his cheek and he leaned into their touch just enough to be felt. He heard more than he saw Shikamaru move, listening and watching as the shadow nin moved to lean over him, a hand keeping him propped up. He could feel the younger nin pressed against him in various places and the warmth of his body started to sooth his nerves. This was new, but it didn’t have to be awkward or uncomfortable.

He grinned to himself as Shikamaru leaned down, pressing a kiss to his lips. It was chaste, just as all the others had been, but it was softer, more tender than the ones before. It helped him relax, the laziness of it all, and he especially liked the way the Nara’s thumb never stopped stroking his cheek. When the shadow nin finally pulled away, Neji felt immensely more relaxed, ready to go to sleep. It had been long day and he really was quite tired. He smiled as Shikamaru laid back down on the bed, no longer worried about how close they were.

“Good night, Neji,” Shikamaru whispered, his hand still resting on the Hyuuga’s cheek.

“Good night, Shikamaru,” Neji murmured, his eyes drooping shut as the touch continued. His life had changed drastically. Yet it felt right, as if something had slipped into place, and he wasn’t going to let anything take away what he had gained.


	11. Stolen Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! haha And I bring a new chapter with me. I apologize the long break, but life circumstances and muses are a wonderful thing to try and get to work together. Regardless, I haven't forgotten about this story and I'm still very interested in sharing it again with all of you!
> 
> Thanks for your patience, everyone. For those of you still around and who are enjoying the story, an extra big thank you for you. I'm really glad that you all have enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it!
> 
> Without further ado, here's the next chapter!

Neji woke up the next morning feeling warmer than he had in a long time. It was so comfortable that for a moment, he simply let himself relax in the heat and softness around him. It felt so good and unconsciously, he wiggled closer to it. The movement made him more aware of his surroundings and it took him only a few seconds to remember where he was and just who he was sleeping with. A small smile crawled onto his face when fingers started to run through his hair, sighing happily as the touch sent pleasant tingles down the back of his neck and spine. It wasn’t until he felt the bed shake softly that he opened his eyes, only to find the younger nin silently chuckling.

“So much for getting up early,” Shikamaru murmured, his voice still scratchy from sleep.

“You’re a bad influence,” Neji said softly, his own voice not much better. The sound of the Nara’s voice like that, however, had been far more pleasant than he would have ever thought.

“It’s my fault?” the shadow nin asked, trying to sound offended. He wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

“Mmhm,” the Hyuuga replied, grinning as he pushed his head against the arm underneath it. Had he slept on it again?

Shikamaru grinned, completely unrepentant. Neji felt the younger nin curl his arm and he hummed in the back of his throat as they shared a kiss. It was short, but it brought back to his mind all that had happened the night before. The memories made him grin and he wiggled in closer, pressing his nose against the Nara’s cheek. It all felt so good and he closed his eyes as he felt himself relax even further. He never had imagined he’d be in this position, with anyone, but the warmth and security he felt was something he couldn’t even begin to describe.

“Never would have pinned you for a cuddler,” Shikamaru grinned, lifting his head so his chin was resting on top of brown locks.

“I am not cuddling,” Neji playfully argued, almost petulant in his tone. “I’m simply enjoying the warmth you’re giving off.”

“Most people would call that cuddling.”

“I would call it being a leech.” He couldn’t help but smile as he said this. He knew he was insulting himself, but he couldn’t really find it in himself to care much, not when they were bantering like this.

The shadow nin’s answering chuckle was deep and low in his throat. He couldn’t stop the tingles or the shiver that ran through him at the noise. He had _definitely_ liked the way that had sounded. Shikamaru pulled him closer then, probably thinking that he was cold. “How did you sleep?”

Letting out a soft breath, he opened his eyes as he focused on the feel of the Nara’s arm under his head. “Very well. I hope I didn’t make your arm fall asleep.”

He could practically feel the Nara’s answer grin. “Nah. Just a little tingly. But I like being your pillow.”

With a soft sigh, he slowly started to push himself up from the bed, letting the movement stretch his back. “Well, _pillow_ , we need to get up. We’ve got work to do.”

Shikamaru didn’t respond immediately, completely distracted with the sight before him. Neji’s hair was falling over his shoulders like a gentle waterfall, impossibly smooth. The way he was sitting as well was giving Shikamaru a very good visual of _just_ how flexible the older nin was. He felt his mouth go a little dry as the Hyuuga sat up fully and lifted his arms over his head, his mesh undershirt barely hiding the muscle underneath it. It was a struggle to rein those thoughts in, but he did his best. Kissing and light touching might be acceptable right now, but going to _that_ zone was an entirely different story.

Still, he couldn’t stop the little groan that slipped out of his throat and he hoped he was able to pass it off as him being upset and not...something else. “Let’s just stay here a little longer.”

“Maybe another day,” Neji grinned and leaned down to press a kiss against Shikamaru’s lips. It was the first one that he’d initiated and the way his cheeks flushed slightly showed that he wasn’t entirely unaffected.

It was a look that Shikamaru couldn’t resist. His hands lifted from the bed and buried themselves in the Hyuuga’s hair, gently pulling his head down for another kiss. This one was far stronger and definitely more passionate, despite how chaste it was. When the touch of their lips wasn’t enough for him, he wrapped an arm around the older nin’s waist, pulling him all the way down so Neji was on top of him, their chests nearly flat against each other. If this hadn’t been so new for the both of them, he would have acted on some of the fantasies he’d had where they were in this position.

“Shikamaru,” Neji huffed, pushing back enough so he could speak. “We need to get up and focus on-”

“Fine, fine,” the shadow nin sighed, letting his arms flop back to the bed. “Distraction won’t work with you, huh?”

“It never has,” the older nin replied with a smirk. Half of his mind was screaming at him as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. It wanted him to just forget the scrolls and to go back to kissing. Before the other half could argue, his body decided to interject its own thoughts, his stomach growling loudly.

The Nara snickered softly both at the sound and the expression the other nin made. “I’ll make breakfast.”

Refusing to be embarrassed over something so natural, the Hyuuga gave the other a short nod of the head and moved to the edge of the bed. He stretched once more, to chase away the lingering desire to just lie back down. They really did need to begin reading those scrolls. Getting to his feet, he wandered over the closet, lifting up the clothes he’d hung there last night. He paused briefly as he pulled his shirt back on, staring almost blankly inside. He wondered...how would Shikamaru feel if he asked to keep a set of his clothes here? After all, there would probably be other nights where he’d end up sleeping here.

It was a thought that sent butterflies swirling in his stomach and brought a tiny smile to his face.

“What are you grinning about?” Shikamaru asked, smirking when he got a shake of the head in response. “Don’t want to tell me?”

“It isn’t anything worth mentioning, really,” Neji replied, stepping away from the closet so the Nara could access his own clothes.

“Sure,” the shadow nin shrugged. “Would you go brew some coffee for me?”

“As long as you’re aware that I’ve never made coffee before,” the older nin stated, walking towards the door.

“I’m sure you can handle it,” the Nara chuckled, stripping off his shirt.

The kitchen for some reason felt warmer when Neji walked in, more inviting. It was a ridiculous thought, but he could have hummed a tune right then with how happy he felt. It took him a moment to figure out how to work the coffee maker. He never drank the stuff and he’d never had to make it before either. The branch family members, even though he was a part of them, often treated him as if he was one of the main branch, due to his genius and skill. They had pampered him, making his meals and travel packs. He had told them it wasn’t necessary, that he could do all of that on his own, but they had insisted and kept at it. It must have been at least ten years since they had started doing that.

The machine was dripping the last of the brew into the pot when Neji felt two hands settle on his hips. Grinning, he stood still as those hands moved to wrap around his waist and Shikamaru’s head came to rest on his shoulder. He felt so content that he closed his eyes and leaned back, grinning when those arms squeezed slightly around him. The fact that they were so comfortable with one another spoke volumes to him. The only thing that had really changed between them was the amount of physical contact, something that the shadow nin couldn’t seem to get enough of at the moment.

“Coffee made by the person I like,” Shikamaru murmured softly, pulling the older nin closer to him. “I don’t think this morning could get any better.”

“It can’t be that special,” Neji said, shrugging lightly. “I don’t even know if I made it right.”

“I’d drink it anyway,” the Nara replied seriously, still grinning like they’d won the upcoming war already.

“You said you’d make me breakfast,” the Hyuuga stated, changing the subject. The fuzzy feeling in his stomach was starting to grow a little too strong for his tastes.

“That I did,” the shadow nin nodded, pressing a kiss to his cheek before pulling away. “Let me see what I’ve got in the fridge.”

It was a simple breakfast. Neji watched as Shikamaru cooked, impressed that he was so skilled. It really shouldn’t have surprised him, with the dexterity and finesse that the younger nin had with his shadows. Still, he couldn’t help but stare in awe. Once the meal was set and they started to eat, there was a small pause and silence between them. They’d shared breakfasts before, but never in one of their homes. It didn’t take them long to fall into an easy conversation, however, and it was no different than how it had been before.

He offered to clean up breakfast when they were done as washing dishes had been one chore he hadn’t been able to get out of and the Nara finished his coffee as he did so. Just as he was finishing, the younger nin left the kitchen to retrieve the scrolls they’d been put in charge of, informing him that he would be waiting on one of the couches when he was finished. They might as well be comfortable as they read. Once his task was finished, Neji made his way to the living room, eyeing the scrolls sitting on the coffee table as he sat down.

Shikamaru pulled him close before he grabbed one of the scrolls. Despite how he was sitting, he put himself in the mindset of a mission. The Hokage had basically said it was such and he needed to give it the focus that it deserved. They were going to be reading whatever Sasori’s spy had found on the Uchiha massacre and that in turn was going to help them with the secret mission they’d gotten from Tsunade. Or at least, he hoped it would. They really needed to find something soon.

“We’ll start with the one with information on the massacre,” Shikamaru stated, glancing over at the Hyuuga. “After Pain’s attack, I’m going to bet that any defensive structures or plans Konoha had in place when the spy got this information isn’t in play anymore.”

“I agree,” Neji said. “Besides, we have another mission that the Hokage said takes priority. It seems unlikely that anyone would attack while we’re preparing for war as well.”

“Even if they did, Naruto’s around,” the shadow nin smirked. “He’s doing everything he can to make sure everyone stays safe. I think they’d find it hard to get through him.”

The Hyuuga nodded his agreement, grinning himself. The utter faith they had in Naruto was almost ridiculous. A lot had changed since their genin days, especially with Naruto. Before, where he was thought as an annoyance, now everyone looked up to him and respected him. After he’d gone to Kumogakure and trained with the eight tailed jinchuuriki he’d come back stronger, were it possible. Neji was beginning to wonder if their energetic agemate had a limit to his growth. It seemed like he never stopped.

“Ready?” the Nara asked, his finger on the scroll’s opening flap. It broke the Hyuuga from his thoughts and he hummed softly to show his consent. The younger nin spread out the scroll as far as his arms could reach and both mentally sighed in relief. There didn’t seem to be a trap or a code of any kind mixed in with the information on the scroll. Why Sasori’s spies hadn’t bothered to write the information they’d found in code was beyond them, but they would happily accept the simple read in front of them.

Simple it may have been, but what they read horrified them. Shikamaru remained almost impassive as he went, staring at the scroll as if it contained the instructions to the jutsus they’d learned in the Academy. Neji, however, found himself growing more and more furious. Itachi had been ordered to kill his clan. Ordered to kill those who had raised him, who had grown up with him, who had taught him, those that he didn’t even _know_ just because of their connection to the clan. Then he was sent off, like a criminal, to take the fall by himself and the rebellion that had been planned would be as if it had never existed.

He couldn’t even finish reading, as furious as he was. He stood up from the couch and marched through the kitchen and to the balcony just outside. Anger coursed through him as he stared out over the railing, down into the street below. Rebellion or otherwise, to completely wipe out a clan, and to have one of their own members carry out the act, was simply ludicrous! How _dare_ they order Itachi to do such a thing?! His mind was racing. What if it had been the Hyuuga clan that had decide to revolt? If he had been in Itachi’s place...

He was still gripping the railing firmly when Shikamaru came to stand by him. The shadow nin said nothing, merely let himself be a calm, silent presence. Neji wanted to scream, to shout out his fury to anyone that could hear. He bit his tongue instead. When he finally felt that he could speak without alerting the whole village to what he wanted to say, he stalked back into the apartment, the Nara close on his heels. He returned to the living room, pacing around the floor, when the younger nin gently grabbed his shoulder and pulled him close.

“How could they?” Neji asked, his voice full of fury and sadness. “How could they order him to kill his clan?”

“They were worried about the revolt and what it meant for Konoha,” the younger nin answered, though he knew the Hyuuga knew it. He tenderly ran his hand down the back of Neji’s head, trying to sooth his emotions.

“A revolt they could have prevented!” the older nin countered, unable to keep the shakiness out of his voice. “Instead, they made him the scapegoat and-”

“I know, Neji.” The shadow nin tried to placate the man in his arms, though he had a good idea where he was going with this.

Neji’s expression pinched into one of pain and rage. “Could you do it? If the council ordered you to kill your clan, your _family_ , to save Konoha, could you do it?”

Shikamaru didn’t answer because he wasn’t sure he could. His brain argued that no matter the situation, he could come up with a solution that would involve no deaths or killing. Argued that he could come up with a solution for whatever his clan was angry about. But he knew that’s not what Neji had been asking, knew that the nin shaking in his arms hadn’t asked him what he would have done instead. He loved Konoha. It was his home. The thought of killing anyone of his clan, however, chilled him. To think of killing his dad, or his mom, was something he couldn’t even imagine.

Letting out a shaky breath, Neji leaned into the shadow nin, his hands gripping at the clothes of the younger nin’s chest. “I hated the main branch for so long. I almost killed Hinata when we were younger out of rage. But to kill my entire clan? Not just the shinobi, but the civilians? The women? The children? I...I couldn’t do it, Shikamaru. I couldn’t.”

Gently rubbing the back of Neji’s neck, Shikamaru remained silent. He eventually went back to the couch, pulling the older nin with him, and settled them both on top of it, where his back was against one of the arms. His lover (he liked thinking that, even if they hadn’t gotten very far) had settled in between his legs, his head resting on his shoulder. It wasn’t a surprise that this was hitting Neji harder than it was himself. The Hyuuga clan had been a part of Konoha for almost as long as the Uchiha.

Neji finally relaxed, after several moments of silence. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think-”

Shikamaru shook his head and continued to run his hand soothingly over the back of the Hyuuga’s head. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. I’ll probably never fully understand how much this is affecting you, but I can honestly say that I’m angry too. The fact that the village council would do something like that just isn’t right, regardless of how it might affect Konoha. Like you said, there probably could have been other ways around it.”

“I don’t think the Hokage is going to expect this,” Neji sighed, closing his eyes. “What do we do? Is there anything we can do?”

“Not with just this,” the shadow nin responded. “No council or group of leaders would recognize the scroll as proof. However, the spy was thorough and they listed their sources in the scroll, of where _we_ can find the same information. That source material is exactly what Tsunade wants, what she’s had you on the hunt for. Once she gets her hands on the official documents, you can bet she’s not going to just let this fly under the radar. She doesn’t ignore these kind of things, no matter how busy she gets.”

“How does that help us?” the older nin asked, willing to let the Nara’s brain do the work. He was honestly still so upset that he couldn’t think straight.

“The only ones who knew the truth behind the massacre before this scroll were the Third Hokage, the village council, and Itachi,” the Nara explained calmly. “Itachi hasn’t said a word to Interrogation about it. Still, there’s always the chance that he either slips or someone’s finally able to access that part of his memories. If they did, the council would very quickly be bombarded with questions. Questions they don’t want to answer. So they covered it up, made it appear as if it hadn’t happened as much as they possibly could. People don’t got digging for stuff unless they think there’s something to find.”

“That’s also probably why there’s so little in the area where the massacre should be listed,” he continued, staring up at his ceiling. “They didn’t want questions, didn’t want people to find out the truth behind it all. How do you think all of the shinobi in Konoha would feel if they knew that the council had ordered the death of a clan? What’s to stop them from targeting another clan or a group of individuals? As such, they’re going to push for his trial to be sooner than later. In fact, they already have. They want him out of the picture, Neji, and fast.”

“That’s why we need to find the sources,” Neji stated, his voice soft with thought. “So we can have it ready for his trial.”

“Exactly,” the shadow nin grinned. “When the Hokage doesn’t agree with the council in executing Itachi, as will most likely be the case when she reads what we have, they are going to want to know why. Or, if they’re really desperate, they’ll ignore the why and go straight to calling in the clan heads to help them reach a decision. After all, if the village leadership is split on a decision, that’s the next course of action.”

“The clan leaders will want facts,” the older nin said, pushing himself up and staring down at Shikamaru with a mixture of understanding and relief. “They’ve all heard the stories, just like we have, but facts are crucial when it comes to deciding on a death sentence.”

“Right,” Shikamaru nodded. “If we can get the facts we need to prove what this scroll has shared with us and share them with the clan leaders, there’s bound to be an uproar and Itachi most likely won’t be executed. He can’t avoid a punishment, that’s for certain, but he won’t be killed. We can give him a chance, Neji, to make things right for himself and everyone else that was lied to. Maybe even give him a chance at a life that he deserves. If what that scroll says is true, he killed his clan for Konoha. Right or wrong, that says a lot about his loyalty.”

“There’s only one problem,” Neji frowned. “The clan leaders will lose faith in the village council. Won’t that create more conflict?”

The shadow nin smirked. “It could, if we don’t prepare for it. If one of the clan heads, however, motions for the council to be reformed shortly after the trial, it’ll still create a stir, but not one on the scale that you’re thinking of.”

The smile that the older nin gave him was well worth the explanation of his thoughts. “What would we do without that brain of yours?”

That made the Nara snort. “The village managed just fine before I was born, you know.”

Shaking his head, Neji leaned down and pressed a light kiss to the shadow nin’s cheek. “Maybe, but things run smoother now than they did in years before.”

“So, do we continue reading?” the younger nin asked. “Or can we take a nap break?”

“It’s not even noon yet,” the Hyuuga chuckled with a smirk. “Besides, this is important enough that we ought to go inform the Hokage of what we read.”

“Meh, troublesome,” Shikamaru huffed. “Alright, get up then. We’ll take the scroll with us.”

Their trek to the Hokage’s office was quick, though they didn’t bound on top of the rooftops as much as Neji wanted to. They needed to avoid suspicion, not attract it. Just as they reached the Hokage’s door, it open and Shizune scurried out, greeting them both very quickly before she was off on her way. The two watched her go before they made their way inside, only to find Kakashi and Sakura standing next to the desk, Sakura holding a stack of papers in her arms. Kakashi looked as if he just happened to be there while Tsunade busily stamped the papers on her desk.

“Yo,” Kakashi said, waving a hand casually.

“Shikamaru, Neji,” Tsunade stated, watching as the two walked into her office. “I’m assuming you’re here because of the task I gave you.”

“Task?” Sakura asked, raising a brow.

“Yes,” Neji nodded, “and it pertains to our mission.”

There was no need to expand on that and Tsunade glanced meaningfully at Kakashi. The man nodded and made sure that all the windows and doors were closed while barely moving from his spot. Once he gave her the universal sign that things were okay, the Hokage wasted no time in putting up the sound barrier she had when she’d first assigned them the mission. Once it was set, she turned to face Shikamaru and Neji, intertwining her fingers together and resting her elbows on her desk before locking onto them with her gaze.

“I will explain later to Kakashi and Sakura what the scrolls are, but you’ve come here for a reason,” the Hokage stated. “Share with me what you’ve learned.”

“Honestly, Hokage,” Shikamaru stated, “I think you simply need to read it for yourself. I doubt either of us could say what’s in there adequately. I don’t think any of us could ever be prepared for what’s inside.”

Kakashi, Tsunade, and Sakura carefully shoved the papers on the Hokage’s desk to the side as Neji stepped forward with the scroll, laying it out in the cleared space. “I believe you should read it as well, Sakura, Kakashi.”

Shuffling to stand behind Tsunade’s chair, the two shinobi did as he had suggested. The pair stood back and watched as their comrades read what was on the scroll, wondering how each would react to the words written on it. Kakashi was done first, which really wasn’t a surprise considering his level of intellect. His face remained impassive, though both Shikamaru and Neji caught him curling his hands into fists for a moment before he let them relax again. Sakura finished just before the Hokage, but the horror on her face spoke volumes of her own feelings.

Tsunade looked damn near murderous as she finished. Her eyes were wide with fury and her fingers were tensely locked with one another. Neji suspected that she was doing that so she wouldn’t end up breaking the very building they were in. She pushed herself up from her desk abruptly, glaring down at the scroll on her desk. If she’d had the power to do it, Neji wouldn’t have been surprised if the thing had suddenly burst out in flames. If the Hokage had ever been this angry before, he had certainly never been around to see it.

It was both terrifying and awe inspiring.

“Those bastards,” Tsunade hissed, her fingers curling into her desk and making the wood creak. “No wonder they wouldn’t tell me anything!”

“Can they do that?” Sakura whispered, still in shock. “Are they really able to...to decide that a clan just...”

“It takes at least three council members and the Hokage to make such an order,” Kakashi replied, his voice neutral. “I find it hard to believe that the third Hokage would agree to this, but...it makes more sense on Itachi’s end.”

“What do you mean?” Sakura asked, her eyes narrowing.

“When we worked together,” the copy nin stated, “everything he did was for Konoha. And Sasuke. If the council used Sasuke as some sort of leverage... well, I don’t doubt Itachi would have done it to protect both Konoha and Sasuke at the same time.”

“We need to locate this information straight from the sources,” Shikamaru said, no doubt trying to act on this in mission mode. “We’re lucky the spy was as thorough as they were, but this information is useless unless we can get our hands on the original copies.”

“Yet we can’t move too quickly or it’ll draw attention to what I have the four of you and Naruto doing,” Tsunade said calmly, though her eyes were still burning with her fury. “It does have good timing however. Sakura, you’ve completed the medical file searches I asked for, haven’t you?”

Sakura stood taller and nodded. “That’s actually what I was bringing to you when you sent Shizune out for Itachi’s and Deidara’s physical inspection.”

The Hokage hummed her approval. “Good. Set all that down on the floor. I’ll store it in one of these drawers later. From this point forward, I want you to join Neji in the archives. I will have the two of you split the search on these sources so we can pin them down faster. Neji, your excuse to the ANBU guards will remain the same. We’re looking for information on Itachi six months before and after the massacre. Sakura, if they ask, you tell them you’re searching for whatever information you can on Akatsuki and Uchiha Madara. That should be enough to get them to back off. Shikamaru, I would like you to work with Kakashi on probabilities and anything else you might find relative to the situation. The more I have to work with, the better.”

“Naruto’s task will be to continue to search the spot where the Uchiha clan sat?” Neji asked, simply to make sure that things were clear for all of them.

“Yes,” Tsunade frowned, “and I think it would be best for him to not read this scroll. As we gather the originals we can share our results with him then, but I believe that if he reads what we have, he’s bound to do something drastic. Something that will catch the attention of those we’d rather avoid.”

“He’s gotten better,” Sakura said, defending her teammate, before she looked away bashfully, “though when it comes to Sasuke, he’s still a hothead.”

Kakashi chuckled. “That’s an understatement, Sakura.”

Nodding, the Hokage sat back down at her desk. “I’ll find ways to keep him busy when he’s not searching the Uchiha grounds. There’s still a lot he needs to learn before he can even begin to believe he’s capable of taking this seat. Not only that, but we’re still preparing for war. All the Kages will be here within a week for the meeting on the information we’ve gained on Akatsuki. That alone is going to keep his attention.”

Neji was quiet for a moment before he lifted his eyes to meet with Konoha’s leader. “And Itachi?”

Tsunade breathed in slowly before she let it all out in a puff of air. “The council has requested that I push Itachi’s trial sooner than later. I want to be fully prepared when we do finally settle on a date. Finding this information is crucial and should be a top priority. Once we have it all gathered, we can move forward in coming up with an appropriate punishment.”

Something cracked and broke away inside of him and the Hyuuga let out a soft breath he didn’t even noticed he’d been holding. “You intend to help him then.”

Nodding firmly, the Hokage sat back in her chair. “If the information in this scroll is true, and I highly suspect it is, Itachi’s actions were not entirely his own. He acted under the orders of his superiors, no matter how twisted those orders may have been. I’m damn well not going to sit back and let him take the fall for something like this on his own, not with what I’ve learned. He deserves a chance to live a life in a way that doesn’t require him to be a sacrifice, whether he likes it or not. And that’s final.”


	12. More Than How it Appears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Onto the next chapter! It may not be the most exciting in terms of what's going on, but I felt it was necessary to set up the future plot of this story. Here's hoping you all feel the same way as we get further down the road!

The sources in the scroll proved to be the breath of wind that Neji’s searching needed. They marked where each piece of information could be found, or more specifically, where it was hidden. As he continued to gather the original sources, he was beginning to see that all the expected reports on the massacre actually had been made. Yet somewhere between the written reports and their storage with in the archives, they’d gotten placed in the wrong places. For all he knew, they might have started in the right place and then the council members, or someone under their bidding, had moved them around.

The archive library was known to be impeccable for its sorting. For even one portion of it to be this scattered would have no doubt driven any of the old archivists mad. As it stood, however, only those with permission from the Hokage or one of the village council were allowed into the basement of the library and it was apparent that the council wasn’t in any hurry to allow anyone to start organizing the files to where they should be. There could be more out of place than the information on the massacre and no one would be wiser about it.

Regardless of this, he did his best to not be suspicious in his searches, Sakura doing the same. They had gone over the scroll and its list of sources, sorting it out as best they could so they wouldn’t be darting from one end of the archives to another. If they could keep themselves in a single area, it was less likely to arouse any suspicions. So far Sakura had been able to pin down the autopsies of the dead of the Uchiha clan, something that everyone had found odd considering that such reports were usually kept in the hospital.

She had also been able to find photographs and descriptions of the crime scene, and she had argued with the ANBU the importance of such evidence in the trial against Itachi when they had confronted her about it. Their discussion of whether she could take the photos to make copies of them had distracted the two ANBU guards on duty long enough for Neji to temporary lose their interest. He had wandered over to where the personal records of the Hokages were kept. As much as he was tempted to look at what was there for the First and Second Hokage, he forced himself to go straight to the Third Hokage’s records.

It was, by far, the largest section compared to all the other Hokages. If there hadn’t been a source in that scroll, he wasn’t sure he would have known where to start. Instead, he went straight to the journals, finding the two he needed to cover the appropriate time span. He never would have guessed the Third to be such an avid journal writer, but there were several books filled with the man’s personal thoughts. He felt a bit guilty, honestly, taking the journals and heading to one of the nearby tables to read them. Ninja or not, it was always a bit strange to read someone’s personal thoughts.

He had to wonder, as he read, just how far back any conflicts with the Uchiha clan went. In the first journal it was easily mentioned nearly every third entry that the Third had written. Nothing necessarily correlating with the massacre itself, or the decision to give Itachi the mission, but it seemed that Danzou kept reporting to him of minor scuffles, of things going wrong. The Third had even noted at one point his suspicions of all these reports from Danzou, but other village matters had seemed to erase that from his mind.

He made a mental note of that thought, feeling as if it was going to be important.

When it was time for him to leave, he had nearly gotten through the first journal and he had just read the start of the discussion between the Hokage and the village council on the reports they were receiving from Itachi on the Uchiha revolt. They were definitely going to want copies of these pages. It didn’t take him very long to convince the ANBU guards that it was important for him to take the journals out of the archives. There had been a switch in guard duty since Sakura’s interaction with them and Neji wondered if these ANBU were loyal to Tsunade and so they found no reason to delay him.

For two days, he studied the journals, writing down the important pages that pertained to the events leading up to the massacre itself so he would know what to make copies of. Things had all started to go downhill after Kyuubi’s attack and again Danzou seemed to be a key figure in reporting news to the Third in things that the Uchiha clan had done wrong. It just didn’t sit right with him that all of these reports were coming from one source and then being backed up later by another. It simply lined up too easily.

It was almost as if Danzou had been seeking for anything he could use to isolate the Uchiha clan.

When he finally had all of the information in place, he carefully carried the journals on his way to the Hokage’s office. She had found some excuse for him and the rest of the secret team to be excused from war preparations, though he honestly couldn’t remember what tale she had spun. Still, he watched his surroundings as he made his way up to her office, trying to appear as casual as possible. The ANBU that had let him take the journals out of the archives might be those who sided with the Hokage, but that didn’t mean he was free of watchful eyes.

He knocked politely on Tsunade’s door, waiting until he was called inside, and stood patiently off to the side as he watched the Hokage and her assistant speak.

“Deidara has shown no signs of any physical unfitness, Lady Tsunade,” Shizune was reporting. “I believe we no longer need to keep an eye on his health as closely as we have been.”

“Mmm, good,” Tsunade hummed. “And what of Itachi?”

“His chakra paths have remained stable since you and Sakura cleared them,” her assistant stated. “His body is also reacting well to the treatment for his illness, though he’s still in need of a lot of rest. I also spoke with Ibiki today after my examination about his care.”

“Oh?” The Hokage sat up straighter in her chair. “What did he have to say?”

“He wanted me to report to you,” Shizune replied, “that they have determined enough about his surrender and sharing of information to decide that...he is not as much of a threat as we originally assumed. They are going to keep the blindfold seal over his eyes, but they are reducing the bindings on his hands to a set of chakra subduing shackles.”

“I see,” Tsunade hummed. “If Ibiki thinks it’s safe to do so, then I see no reason to argue with him.”

“Don’t you think he might have been working towards this?” Shizune frowned. “Wait for us to lower our guard and then try to take Naruto?”

“Even if that was his goal, he’d find it hard to get around the seal around his eyes and the chakra seal on his throat,” the Hokage stated. “No, I believe Ibiki had taken the right step here. I believe Itachi is no threat to Konoha. Especially with the information he’s shared with us.”

“If you say so, Lady Tsunade,” her assistant nodded, slowly though her face showed her uncertainty. It remained for only a few seconds before she was shaking her head and smiling. “Is there anything else you need done today?”

“No, that will be all for here,” Tsunade hummed. “You are going to see where each of our medical ninja stand in their skills, correct?”

“Of course, as you ordered,” Shizune affirmed. “I will be in tomorrow with my report.”

“Good,” the Hokage grinned. “I expect a good one.”

Neji bowed politely as Shizune left the office, waiting until she was gone before he approached the Hokage’s desk. Tsunade was finishing the report in front of her, a scowl on her face before she placed her seal on it and set it aside. She sighed softly as she sank into her seat, closing her eyes briefly and rubbing at her temple. She had to be busy, with preparations for war and the upcoming meeting with the other Kages. Still, she remained as she had even before Pain’s attack and she was holding Konoha together splendidly. He couldn’t think of anyone better for the job.

“You have something to share, I assume,” Tsunade said, opening her eyes and sitting up straight. She had taken the time to cast the silencing jutsu before she’d spoken to him.

“I’ve gone over a couple of the Third’s journals,” Neji stated, gently lifting the books in his hands. “I believe they’ll give us insight to his thoughts during the whole discussion with the village council and Itachi about the revolt. There were some interesting finds that I believe will help.”

“Let me see them then,” the Hokage nodded, holding out her hand.

He did as he was told and he set both books down in her hand. As she opened them up, he explained how he had organized the importance of the facts that he’d found, pulling a few extra sheets of paper out from between them. She paid attention to the system he’d worked out, nodding in approval once he’d finished. Apparently it would be easy for her to pinpoint the information that would help her best when it came to Itachi’s trial. Neji was sure there was more he could find, but he felt accomplished with what he’d found so far.

Tsunade merely skimmed over the more important parts that he’d marked and smiled. “This is excellent, Neji. Well done. It may not hold up as facts, but the personal journal of the Third is a pretty powerful playing piece nonetheless. No one has touched these journals since they were stored in the archives. With the photos and autopsies that Sakura found, we’re actually getting some footing underneath all of this. It’s starting to look like we’ve got a chance.”

Kakashi popped into the room then, saluting casually as he climbed in through one of the windows. “Sounds like things are beginning to pick up. Glad I went ahead and did my own research.”

The Hokage raised a brow. “Oh? What do you mean?”

“I started to think about what else we could look at, things that may not have been a priority at the time of the massacre,” the Copy nin stated. “I found something pretty interesting when you look at the finances of the Uchiha clan.” He pulled a scroll out from inside of his vest, setting it down on the Hokage’s desk.

Tsunade immediately opened the scroll, glancing over the information, nodding when Neji silently asked if he could look at it as well. She honestly didn’t have to show him anything, but he had to admit he was curious. The dates started at a few months before the massacre and nothing seemed odd. There was a very sudden pause in the numerals around the time of the massacre and then they started to drop. First a little bit here and a little bit there, nothing major. But then the amounts started to increase and grow larger and larger with each drop.

By the time Sasuke had been a genin, his family’s fortune had been dwindled down to just enough for him to live the rest of his life peacefully, but nothing more.

“Where the hell did this money go?” the Hokage muttered, glaring at the scroll in front of her.

“I asked the bank's ninja research group about that,” Kakashi answered. “The first few times after the massacre, the money that was taken out was for Sasuke’s livelyhood and his medical care. After that, they couldn’t seem to find any remarks or reason for the money pulled, couldn’t find where the money had gone either.”

“Surely they didn’t leave it at that when you pointed it out,” Neji frowned, furious at what he was seeing. Someone had stolen money from a boy who’d suddenly inherited his entire clan’s fortune!

“They were getting their records team to go over it as I was walking out,” the Copy nin answer. “I told them that anything they find goes straight to me or to the Hokage. No one else. As Sasuke’s last teacher and group leader, they didn’t even question the order.”

“As soon as they have those answers, I want them on my desk,” the Hokage ordered before letting out a frustrated breath. “When I decided to look into the massacre, I was not expecting this... _blatant_ abuse of the Uchiha.”

“Someone wanted them out of the picture for a reason,” Kakashi said, his voice low. “And they didn’t want anyone finding out about it.”

“Now it’s just a matter of pinning down who and why,” Tsunade frowned. “Neji, continue to search for the sources on that scroll with Sakura. I still need more actual proof to use in Itachi’s trial. The council is ready to settle on a date for it and they won’t give me much more time to delay. Kakashi, keep checking on these finances, but I want you to continue to help Shikamaru with his list of probabilities and such. Two geniuses are better than one in this case. I want no mistakes, no slips. We can’t afford it.”

“Of course, Hokage,” Neji nodded. “I’ll head to the archives right away.”

The Hokage nodded encouragingly. “We’re getting closer. Something will break the dam soon and then we’ll have all the information we could want. We just need to be persistent. You’re both dismissed. We’ll share your findings with the rest of the team later.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Later turned out to be a the day after. Tsunade had summoned them all to her office, under the context that she wanted their help with the upcoming meeting with the Kages. Shizune was out again to examine the medical ninja and once they were clear, the sound barrier was raised. Chairs had been pulled in earlier for all of them and they’d brought with them anything that they’d managed to find or compile together. Neji was eyeing the impressive stack by Shikamaru’s own chair and he was sure the others were doing the same.

The Hokage wasted no time in addressing the stack, her eyes wide. “What is all that?”

Shikamaru shrugged. “You wanted all of it. Don’t look at me like I’m a freak.”

Blinking, Tsunade could only keep looking at the pile. “What, exactly, did I ask for that would make you bring so much?”

With a soft sigh, the Nara got up from his chair, lifting the stack from the floor and taking it over to her desk. “Probabilities, statistics, even a few strategic calculations. That’s what you wanted, right?”

Neji couldn’t stop himself from grinning as the Hokage continued to stare at the stack like it was the most dreadful thing she’d ever seen. Shikamaru had certainly given her plenty to read in the next day or so. If the way Kakashi was smirking behind his mask said anything, they two had spared no expense on making sure that they had put together every piece of information that Tsunade might need. He had no doubt that anything compiled in that stack was going to be useful, but that didn’t mean Shikamaru and Kakashi had held back on the minor things.

“This will take me days to read,” Tsunade grumped, glaring up at the shadow nin.

“You don’t have to read all of it,” Shikamaru shrugged again, “but I didn’t have time to summarize any of it. It is organized though.”

“Thank you,” the Hokage grumbled, clearly sarcastic as the Nara returned to his seat. She carefully slide the pile to the side before turning her attention back to the room. “What else have we got?”

“The financial records team was finally able to pin point where the Uchiha money has gone,” Kakashi stated. The rest of the team had been informed of the situation earlier and they anticipated what the Copy nin was going to share. “As far as they could see, the money just disappeared.”

“Money doesn’t just vanish,” Tsunade said with a frown.

“No, so they kept searching,” the Copy nin grinned. “Guess they didn’t like how this had escaped their notice. They found the money and where it had reappeared. It had been split up into separate accounts, but they all had one thing in common.”

“What?” Naruto asked, looking a bit impatient.

Kakashi paused before he tossed a scroll the Hokage’s way. “That’s for the official record. For everyone else here, Shimura Danzou had either opened the accounts or had access to them.”

Sakura frowned heavily. “His name is coming up very often with what we’re finding. I know he’s on the village council and they seem to be the ones behind hiding all this information, but he’s had a hand in so much of the information that we’ve found. I don’t like it.”

Tsunade snorted. “I don’t either, but it is giving me more to look into where he’s concerned. This information is useful and I’m sure I’ll be glad to have it on hand. However, we need to keep our focus right now on the massacre and anything that can help us with Itachi’s trial.”

Her words made Naruto beam and he stood up from his seat, a small bag in his hands. “I think I found something that you’re really going to want to look at then, Granny Tsunade.”

The group watched as he walked over to the Hokage and handed her the bag, anticipation of her reaction so very easy to read on his face. Tsunade wasted no time in opening the pouch and pulling out a small, leather book. It was blank on the cover and she stared at it briefly before she opened it up to the first page. Her eyes immediately widened with shock and an extremely pleased smile spread across her lips. With one swift motion, she stood up from her chair and patted Naruto heartily on the shoulder.

“Naruto, you’ve struck gold!”

“What did he find?” Sakura asked, just as interested in the little book as the rest of her team.

“It’s a journal,” Naruto answered as Tsunade continued to read. “It belonged to Itachi and Sasuke’s dad.”

“Uchiha Fugaku?” Kakashi asked, sitting up straighter in his chair. “How has it remained hidden until now? I can’t imagine something like that would have been skipped over when they had been cleaning up after the massacre.”

Scratching the back of his head, the jinchuuriki shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe it was originally in a sealed hole or something, but I found a metal box buried underneath the rubble near where the Uchiha clan’s lands had been. The box was super hard to get open. Inside it though... it held some little things and the journal. I think their dad kept the stuff he found the most important in there.”

His words made the Hokage look up from the journal. “Where’s the box?”

Naruto turned to face her, completely serious. “At my place, under a heavy seal. Someone would have to rip my whole building apart before they could even find it.”

Tsunade nodded approvingly. “Good. Keep it for now. That is not something we want falling into the wrong hands. If those things were important to Uchiha Fugaku, I’m sure his sons will feel the same way.”

“Do you think...” Naruto started, biting his lip a bit before he asked his question. “Do you think that we might be able to...to fix things then? For both Itachi and Sasuke?”

“I won’t lie to the five of you,” Tsunade stated, after a small pause. “The village council is going to be prepared to fight tooth and nail for Itachi’s execution when they find out that I don’t agree with them. There’s also a chance that the clan heads won’t be swayed by this information. This trial is not going to be an easy one by any means. However, I think we have more of a chance now than we ever did before in making things right for those two. It would seem that they got dealt a terrible hand and the leadership at the time did very little, or nothing at all, in helping them.”

“They can’t avoid the consequences of their actions. They’ll face hatred and distrust for years to come. However, if we’re successful in not only sparing Itachi’s life, but also getting Sasuke to return to the village of his own will, they’ve got a chance. A better chance than they’ll ever get. I’m going to do my best at this upcoming meeting with the Kages to get them to ignore the rogue nin status that Danzou placed on Sasuke’s head while I was out or even outright remove the status. With all this new information, there’s only one reason I can think of that would bring Sasuke to attack the Kage summit.”

There was silence for a moment before Shikamaru spoke up. “You think he’s learned the truth about his clan’s murder, or at least a part of it.”

Tsunade nodded. “Exactly. Sasuke had no reason to seek out the Kage Summit. The Raikage was already after his head for kidnapping his brother. It simply wouldn’t make sense for him to go there when one of the most powerful shinobi alive was ready to kill him. He’s smarter than that. Unless, of course, he had a target that he felt was worth going after.”

Sakura’s eyes widened with realization. “Danzou. Elder Danzou was there, acting as the Hokage.”

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. “Which means that someone other than the village council and Itachi is aware of the truth of the massacre and they would have shared it with him, to get him to work for them. Sasuke, as far as we know, had no reason to go after the Hachibi. There’s only one organization that’s been hunting them down.”

Naruto scowled. “Akatsuki and Uchiha Madara.”

Neji shook his head in disbelief. “Uchiha Madara...could it be that Itachi told him the truth of the massacre? Or...or could he have been around to witness it?”

“That’s something I doubt we’ll find an answer for any time soon,” Tsunade stated, looking rather pleased that everyone had come to the same conclusion. “It does, however, give me something to share with the other Kages about our beliefs behind his actions. I’m not expecting a miracle of any kind, but it’s something. Of course, this is all speculation. We honestly don’t know all of Sasuke’s thoughts, but we can certainly play it that we do. The more confident we are, the more likely the other Kage will listen.”

“Sasuke’s more likely to come back on his own as well if he knows he’s no longer being hunted actively,” Shikamaru stated, watching at the way Naruto’s eyes lightened up. “He’ll come again for Danzou’s head and maybe even after Itachi himself. If we’re ready for that, we can stop him and explain what it is that we’re doing. He might even be willing to cooperate with us at that point, depending on what he knows or has been told.”

“We’ll tackle that issue at another time,” the Hokage stated. “For now, you’ve all worked hard and I’ve gained plenty of material to use in Itachi’s trial. I’ll begin organizing it so it can be ready for it. If you continue to work for more information on the massacre and you find anything, bring it to me immediately. However, each of you have earned a break and you are more than welcome to take it. I will be sure to let you know when a date for the trial has been decided on. For now, you’re dismissed.”

As they got up from their seats, Neji wasn’t surprised when Shikamaru asked Tsunade if he could help her organize the information into the appropriate files. His lover had been serious about his training to become an assistant to Naruto when he finally became Hokage and seemed intent on learning all he could. He merely nodded when the Nara looked his way. He would meet with him later. As he walked out of the office, stretching his arms, Neji knew exactly where he was going to go and what he was going to do.

He could silently admit to himself, however, that napping was far more fun when Shikamaru was with him.


	13. Passing the Test

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Time for the next chapter! Thanks for sticking with me as I slowly get this story in its rewritten form back online.
> 
> For the sake of (hopeful) consistency, I have decided that it would be easiest for me to make sure I update this story by setting a schedule for myself. So my goal is to update this fiction once a month, on the first weekend. This is still flexible for me, but it also gives me a set period of dates that I can set a reminder for myself to make sure I post a new chapter. This also gives me time to make sure that chapters are written in the way that I'd like them to be.
> 
> Thank you all for your patience with me! I am glad that so many of you are enjoying this rewrite and I hope you'll continue to do so, whether it's your first time through or not! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

“Excuse me. I received orders to come here?”

Inoichi looked up from the papers in his hands, smiling pleasantly at the young man standing at the door. “Yes, that’s right. There are some questions we’d like to ask you, if you don’t mind. Please, take a seat.”

Nodding, Neji stepped inside of the room, glancing around at his surroundings. There was a table and two chairs in the center of the room, one that was occupied by the Yamanaka clan head. Other than a small lamp that sat on the edge of the table, the room was completely empty. As he sat down in the free chair, he watched as Inoichi placed his papers into a file, closing it before placing it down on the table. He didn’t seem to be too worried about the contents of those papers being read if the relaxed pace he was moving at was anything to go by.

Neji was doing his best to hide his discomfort. He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d been told to come here and the sparse room was making him even more unsure. It truly felt like he was being pulled into an interrogation that he hadn’t known about. Still, he kept control over himself and stayed calm. It would take more than this to make him break into pieces. Compared to the Hyuuga elders, and how they questioned and ordered him around, he honestly felt that this was going to be much easier, whatever it was.

“If I may, might I ask why I’m here?” he asked, hoping it came off as more curious than nervous.

“Hm? Oh, nothing special,” Inoichi answered, smiling gently. “The Hokage simply decided that she’d like to check the mental stability of those who have never seen war before. Your generation has had to deal with several difficult things lately and she wants to be sure that you’re fit for the battlefield. She’d much rather keep you here with the villagers if she felt that you were going to freeze on the field and get yourself killed. This is also her way of affirming your loyalty to Konoha. With Itachi’s surrender, she’s concerned that Sasuke will return and wants to make sure your sympathies won’t get in the way.”

Neji nodded thoughtfully. Had Tsunade asked all those in his age group to go under this examination? He had not doubt that she knew of his loyalty, considering the secret mission he’d been apart of. If this was aimed at everyone, however,it would make sense to him then as to why he was included. After all, she couldn’t exactly exclude him from the group without it looking a little strange. Still, the order had been that this was not to be shared with others, so even if he wanted to confirm his thoughts, he wouldn’t ask around.

“Now then,” the older shinobi said, sitting back in his seat and clasping his hands together. “I’m going to ask you some questions and you simply need to answer them as best you can. After I’ve finished with them, would you allow me to search your mind? Just scratching the surface, so to speak.”

The Hyuuga grinned pleasantly. “Of course. Whatever the Hokage needs.”

Inoichi nodded and began to fire off his questions. They started simple, asking him his name, his age, the day he was born. They slowly evolved into questions such as what he might like to do with his free time or any hobbies he had. They were easy to answer and he didn’t feel a need to dodge a question or hide the truth. Even as the questions became much more personal and asked about his life within the Hyuuga compound, he answered truthfully and readily. When he was asked if the main family had activated his seal recently, he paused.

“I...not that I can remember,” he answered, somewhat quietly.

“What do you mean?” Inoichi asked, looking confused.

“There was one night, almost three weeks ago,” Neji replied, “that when I woke up the next morning, my head was in pain. It felt similar to the after effects of the cursed seal.”

“Do you think someone might have activated the seal while you were sleeping?” the other nin questioned, looking very surprised.

It wasn’t a thought the Hyuuga had given much time to and he frowned about it even now. “I don’t want to assume that. For all I know, it could have merely been a very strong headache.”

Inoichi hummed softly before he nodded. “I see. Thank you for answering so honestly. I’ll continue with my questions. Are you seeing anyone at the moment?”

That made Neji blink. “I-I’m sorry?”

A smirk wiggled into place on the older shinobi’s face. “Are you seeing anyone? Dating? In a relationship?”

The Hyuuga swallowed. “Um...y-yes.”

“Might I ask for their name?” Inoichi asked. If he was surprised at the answer, he was doing a wonderful job of not showing it. “It would stay between you, myself, and the Hokage. If you’re not comfortable with that, perhaps you could tell me if they belong to one of the clans here in Konoha?”

“They do,” Neji stated, shifting a little in his seat. “I’m afraid I don’t see how knowing their name is important.”

“It’s actually quite relevant,” the older shinobi replied, sitting back in his chair. “Being in a relationship is obviously more serious than any friendship you might have. Whether you’re aware of it or not, that person has an effect upon your mind and your decisions. Knowing exactly who you’re dating could be something that is advantageous on the battlefield. If their skill set matches well with yours, it’ll be easier to plan out battle strategies.”

“I-I see,” the Hyuuga said, still slightly uncomfortable with this string of questions. He didn’t care that someone knew he was dating someone, especially outside of the clan. If the Hyuuga elders heard about this... “You will not...share this information with anyone, will you?”

Inoichi paused before understanding filled his gaze. “Your clan. They are unaware of your relationship.”

Neji scowled lightly. “They are. I’d like for it to remain that way.”

Chuckling softly, the older nin nodded. “Completely understandable. The answers you’re sharing today are for the ears of this room only and then later in the hands of the Hokage as a report. What you tell your family and when is your business, not ours. As long as it does not interfere with your duty, that information is yours and yours alone. Now, I have one last question and then we’ll be done. Would you be willing to sacrifice yourself for the good of Konoha, in whatever way that might be?”

Neji paused. The information he had gained from the archive was still very fresh in his mind and Itachi immediately popped into his mind at the question. Could he and would he do something similar if it meant Konoha would survive? He, again, wasn’t sure he could. “I believe it would depend on just how I am sacrificing myself, but I am willing to do almost anything for Konoha. If it was the only way, I would unquestioningly put myself in harms way to protect the village.”

“Almost anything?” the other nin asked. “Meaning there are some things you would not do?”

“It is a very limited list,” the Hyuuga stated, “and it is hard to put them into words. You and the Hokage, however, can rest assured that those things are unlikely to happen.”

“That could be said of all shinobi,” Inoichi smiled, “and it is a good answer. Now then, will you allow me to scan your mind? Once I’ve done that, we’ll be finished and you can leave.”

Neji nodded, sitting still as the older nin got up and walked around to where he was sitting. He closed his eyes as a hand was set on the crown of his head, wondering if he would feel someone rooting around in his mind. It was done, however, far faster than he had expected and he was a little surprised when Inoichi lifted his hand from his head, claiming that he was finished. He got up from his seat and thanked the man for his time, bowing politely before he left the room. He was honestly curious about how all of that would be reported to the Hokage, but his mind reminded him that he had training with his uncle. He’d be given more to do if he was late and that was something he didn’t want.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Inoichi sat down in his chair once Neji was gone, sighing softly. “You two can come out now.”

Shikaku and Ibiki came out from the shadows, the chakra they’d been subduing filling the room as they released it. Ibiki walked over to the free chair, sitting down before locking his eyes on the other man. “You know what I want to ask. What did you find?”

“There’s slight damage to his brain,” Inoichi answered with a heavy frown. “It’s recent and very similar to the damage I’ve seen in other members of the branch family. Someone is activating his seal while he’s asleep, if only for a brief moment.”

“Lady Tsunade isn’t going to like that,” Shikaku stated, leaning against the wall next to him.

“No, but I can’t see her ignoring the information and not doing anything about it. She’ll act on it.” There was a small pause in their conversation before a soft chuckle bubbled up through Inoichi’s throat. “Oh, Shikaku? I wouldn’t expect grandchildren in the near future.”

Shikaku gave his friend a very confused look before realization dawned on his face. With a tortured sigh, he closed his eyes, and shook his head. “Of all people, Shikamaru... a Hyuuga?”

Ibiki’s laughter filled the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~

A couple of days passed since the questioning and Neji hadn’t heard anything more about it from Inoichi or the Hokage. He assumed that there hadn’t been any concerns with his answers and as such, he’d decided to let it drop from his mind. Temporarily at least. He was very tempted to ask Shikamaru if he’d gone through a similar questioning. The opportunity to do so had appeared sooner than he had expected as he’d been invited to Chouji’s birthday party. He hadn’t had a chance to get his lover alone in a while and he intended to do so tonight.

Whether it was to question him or to simply enjoy his company, Neji wasn’t quite sure yet.

Chouji’s teammates had rented out a nice little building out near the edge of the Nara’s forest for said man’s twentieth birthday and invited all of their family, friends, and teachers. Food was naturally guaranteed (it was an Akimichi birthday party after all) and Neji did want to see Shikamaru. The shadow nin had been very busy with the Hokage for the past week, no doubt working in whatever way they both saw fit in getting their side of things ready for Itachi’s trial, in addition to preparing for war.

He, however, had spent the previous afternoon thinking about what he could get Chouji as a gift. As Shikamaru’s best friend, he wanted to create a better relationship and Chouji had always been someone of their age group that he’d always gotten along with. In the end, he’d gone to Yakiniku Q and had purchased an all you can eat voucher. He had...expected a higher cost when the restaurant knew who the certificate was for, but the price they’d charged him still seemed a bit high. The owner, however, had insisted that she was honestly giving him a discount with how much Chouji could eat.

Shaking his head at the memory, he continued up the path towards the building. He was already late. He’d had a meeting earlier with the Hokage and as soon as he’d returned to the Hyuuga grounds to freshen himself up for the party, he’d been summoned by a few of the clan elders. Though he’d been annoyed at the delay, it was something he hadn’t been able to ignore. It had been a pointless meeting. They had rambled on about the superiority of the main branch and why it was so awful of him to not refuse his trainings with his uncle. He had stayed silent the entire time, never agreeing with what they had said. If the clan head wanted to train him, who was he to say no?

Now instead of being five minutes late, he was pushing that delay by at least twenty. By the time he got to the party, he would be at least thirty minutes late. He hated being late, but annoying the elders by insisting he had to leave was not worth it. They would hold him even longer then, spouting out some sort of noise about how rude he was and that he’d been raised to respect those of higher positions. They’d been so on edge with him lately that he wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d decided to use his seal, just because they could.

He hoped an apology to Chouji would be enough.

His thought process was suddenly interrupted when a kunai flew down from the trees, forcing him to jump back and crouch into a defensive position. When a second kunai followed after the first, he pulled out one of his own to deflect it and activated his Byakugan. He scanned the trees for his attacker and any thought of it possibly being a practical joke were wiped away as his vision located three figures. Each were cloaked in a heavy material (one that his eyes could not penetrate), their faces wrapped in a way that all he could see were their eyes. Frowning lightly, he waited, watching to see what they would do next.

He was immediately bombarded with jutsus, stone slabs rising from the ground that tried to lock him inside. He slipped out easily enough, dodging as more walls came up. He needed to get close to these three, to halt their attacks. Capturing even one of them by himself was a ridiculous thought, but knocking one out was something he could do, even if it was three against one. Maybe he’d even find out who they were or where they were from. It was more likely, however, for him to distract them and then retreat for backup.

For the first several minutes, he watched and analyzed their skills. It was easy to see who was the fastest, who seemed to be attacking mainly through jutsus, and how the three of them worked together. It was unfortunate that their teamwork was rather impeccable. Finding an opening or a weakness was proving to be extremely difficult, and even when he had found one, he was either too far away or it vanished in a second. Not only was their teamwork amazing, but each shinobi was incredibly skilled. It was not going to be an easy fight in any way.

Making the decision to pull back into the woods, Neji spread a burst of his own chakra to confuse his attackers while he found a large tree to temporarily hide behind. He calmed his mind and ran over all the things he’d seen so far. He needed to make a strategy. Naturally, he couldn’t compare to Shikamaru’s level, but he was no pushover himself. This wasn’t a battle he could win by himself and he knew it. It was clear that he needed to distract them, incapacitate one or more of them if he could, and then retreat to find help.

Their main jutsu user was his target. That shinobi had stayed behind the other two just enough for his earth jutsus to be used unhindered. If Neji could reach him, he could break their defense, a distraction that would hopefully last long enough for him to get ahead and race to Chouji’s party for back up. He pulled in a slow, quiet breath before letting it back out, relaxing his body as he prepared for his strike. If this didn’t work, he would need to get far enough away again to come up with another strategy.

He watched as the party of three started to head his way, if a little bit off of his spot due to the chakra burst he’d released. Using this to his advantage, he sprang out from his spot, one palm ready with the Jyuuken and the other tightly clenched around his kunai. He didn’t bother blocking all the kunai that suddenly flew his way, ignoring the flare of pain in his arm as he continued forward. His palm landed flat on the stomach of the man in front of him, disturbing his chakra enough for him to stumble and roll out of the way. It left the path to their defensive jutsu user wide open, just as he’d planned.

His new target stopped as soon as he could and struggled to pull up a wall before Neji could reach him, but was too slow in doing so. The Hyuuga landed in front of him and started to seal his tenketsu points with pinpoint accuracy. He was able to close about thirty of them before a barrage of kunai force him to use his spinning shield to save himself from becoming a pin cushion. As he finished his spin, he could see the other two returning to their no doubt aching comrade, grabbing him, and then retreating into the dark forest.

They were gone almost as quickly as when they’d ambushed him. Stunned and suspicious, he watched them retreat until they were out of his Byakugan’s range. He merely stood there, keeping an eye on his surroundings, unbelieving that their retreat had just marked the end of the battle. Thirty tenketsu points were hard to work around, yes, but it wasn’t bad enough to make a party of three disappear like that, especially any shinobi as skilled as his opponents had been. Once he was sure there were no traps or no hiding enemies, he slowly let the Byakugan fade.

What the hell had just happened?

Still rather befuddled, he took shelter under a nearby tree, taking stock of his injuries. He felt no cuts on his face, thankfully. Healing skills or not, he doubted he would have been able to hide the leftover mark from anyone at the party. He honestly had gotten away rather lucky after he’d examined himself. He had one nasty cut on his arm, but the rest of the kunai had only cut through his clothes. He applied some healing chakra to the cut, knowing that he’d still need to get someone else to look at it, and then focused on stitching up his clothes enough so it wouldn’t look like he’d been attacked.

He had no desire to ruin the atmosphere of Chouji’s birthday party. Sadly, where it was being held was the closest place to him and even if he should go back home to change his clothes and get patched up, he was much more willing to try and find Ino or Sakura at the party than possibly deal with the clan elders again. Sighing softly as he finished patching up the last cut, he did what he could to wipe up the blood that had trickled from the cut without dirtying his shirt. He was running very late now. Easily an hour.

Slipping into the party was easier than he’d expected, considering he was hiding an injury and trying to act as if there wasn’t one. He kept an eye out for any medical nins that might be around. After he’d finished giving Chouji his birthday gift, he planned to snag one of them to finish healing his wound. The Akimichi heir was not hard to find, and standing with him was his father, Chouza, Shikamaru, and Shikaku. Chouji had an enormous grin on his face as he munched on a sweet, no doubt enjoying himself.

Neji made sure he was visible to the group as he approached, smiling gently as he bowed lightly towards Shikamaru’s best friend. The envelope that held the gift certificate, which had miraculously survived the battle without being bent or torn, was held in his good hand as he didn’t trust himself to move his injured arm without pulling a face. “Happy Birthday, Chouji. I apologize for being so late. I hope my gift to you will make up for it.”

“Wow, you got me something?” Chouji asked, eyes wide with genuine surprise. He smiled as he took the envelope from Neji, excitedly tearing into it with a sparkle in his eyes. He gasped softly as he pulled the certificate out. “All you can eat at Yakiniku Q! Neji, you really didn’t need to do this!”

“A well thought out gift, if a little expensive,” Shikaku stated, his brows raised in surprise. There was also something calculating in his gaze that Neji couldn’t quite place, but he chose not to focus on it.

“I knew this was something he would enjoy,” the Hyuuga responded.

“Well, you’re not wrong!” Chouza chuckled, looking as cheerful as he always did.

“This is perfect, Neji! Thank you!” Chouji nodded, clearly in agreement. He reached forward and pulled Neji into a hug, squeezing tightly. It placed pressure on the Hyuuga’s wound and he couldn’t stop himself from tensing and wincing lightly at the action, something that the Akimichi heir noticed immediately. “Ah, I’m sorry. You probably didn’t...”

“No, it’s alright,” Neji grinned, hoping his pain didn’t show through his voice. He needed to find a medic nin soon as he could feel blood starting to trickle down his arm again. “I was simply surprised. I hate to walk away as soon as I’ve come over, but there’s something I need to take care of. If you’ll excuse me.”

“Let me walk with you,” Shikamaru stated, looking as relaxed as he usually did, though there was a near murderous spark in his eyes. “I’ve got something I want to talk to you about. I’ll be back in a minute, Chouji.”

Chouji nodded and waved as the pair walked away, turning back excitedly to the certificate in his hands. Shikamaru gently guided Neji away from the crowd once they were out of sight, pulling him into one of the smaller rooms in the building. He closed the wooden door behind them, scowling slightly once he was sure they were alone. “Let me see it.”

Startled, Neji stared for a moment before he let out a soft sigh and rolled up his sleeve. He was grateful for the fabric of his shirt as there was no visible blood stains on the outside. “I shouldn’t be surprised that you figured out why I needed to slip away.”

The shadow nin glared at the reopened cut, as if that alone could make it go away. “You winced, barely, when Chouji hugged you. You also used your other hand when you handed his gift over, which isn’t your dominant one.”

“You notice far too much,” the Hyuuga sighed, using his medical ninjutsu to seal the wound again.

“Only about you,” Shikamaru mumbled as he walked over to a nearby closet. Apparently they were in the supply room for the cleaning supplies as he opened one of the cupboards and it was full of clean, white clothes. The shadow nin grabbed one, got it wet at a nearby sink, and then walked over to where his lover was standing. He gently wiped away the blood, his touch light as he wiped over the cut. “What happened?”

“I was attacked on my way here,” Neji explained, letting his hand fall away when he’d healed all that he could. “Three of them, earth jutsus mainly. I managed to hit two of them during our fight. I had intended to retreat here for back up, but they ran away.”

With a soft hum, the Nara finished wiping away the blood before he pulled his clan’s ointment from out of his pouch, gently rubbing it over the injury. Neji didn’t miss the soft, grumbled “stupid” that slipped out of his mouth as he did so.

Blinking, the older nin frowned. “Are you saying I should have done something else?”

The shadow nin looked up at him after he’d put the ointment away, a bandage roll coming out instead. “Hm? Ah, sorry. Didn’t mean that towards you.” The cut was wrapped tenderly in silence and his sleeve was rolled down once Shikamaru had finished. He grinned slightly when his lover twined their fingers together, his other hand lifting up to stroke over his cheek. “You okay?”

Smiling, Neji pressed his cheek into the younger nin’s palm. “I will be fine. It’s a minor wound.”

“Can’t be too careful,” Shikamaru retorted gently, stepping closer and pressing a light kiss to his lips. “Feel okay to stick around for the rest of the night?”

“As I said, it’s a minor wound,” the Hyuuga smirked, though he had very much enjoyed the kiss. “Hardly enough to make me feel that I need to skip out on this party.”

“Good,” the shadow nin grinned, tugging on the hand intertwined with his briefly before letting go. “You can worry about reporting the attack to the Hokage later. Right now, I want you to focus on having a good time.”

It was a bit odd, Neji thought, as they walked back into the crowded room, that the Nara wasn’t insisting that he report the attack immediately. Still, he would hate to leave the party as soon as he’d arrived, so he pushed it all from his mind for the time being. He was still confused, especially about the little ‘stupid’ Shikamaru had uttered earlier, but he would put that off for later. Right now, he was going to enjoy spending time with his lover and try to get to know his best friend a little bit better. He’d like to prepare a different gift for next year.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“You hurt him.”

“Chill out, Shikamaru. He could have easily blocked those kunai. He let himself be cut.”

“You _hurt_ him.”

Though amused at the conversation, Tsunade put a halt to the budding argument. “It’s a small wound, Shikamaru. He’ll be fine in less than a day’s time. Yamato, however, will be out until tomorrow morning.”

Yamato chuckled painfully, rubbing his chest gently. “I never want to be hit by the Jyuuken again. I didn’t realize how badly it would hurt.”

Genma smirked, his senbon moving upwards with the motion. “Be glad you didn’t get the full sixty-four hits. Didn’t expect him to throw himself at you, did you?”

The third member of the group, Raidou, frowned. “Be quiet, Genma. I got hit in the chest as well. You’re the only one that didn’t get hit.”

The senbon-chewing jounin rolled his eyes. “I’m just better than the two of you.”

That made the Hokage snort. “Unlikely. If you had been in Raidou’s position, I’m sure it would have been your chest that Neji had hit. Now, we’re straying from the purpose of you being here. Tell me what you noticed.”

“He’s quick, strong, and as expected, has pinpoint accuracy,” Yamato stated, letting his hand fall to his side.

“Smart too,” Genma added. “He was able to formulate a plan under pressure within seconds. He’s not as good as our master brain over here, but considering he wasn’t expecting the attack, his plan was swiftly put into play and well executed.” He had jerked his head over at Shikamaru at the ‘master brain’ comment and grinned unrepentantly as the Nara rolled his eyes.

“He knew when to fall back instead of pushing forward,” Raidou nodded. “As Genma proved, he’s not afraid to get hurt in if that means he gets to deal out more damage.”

“Add his growing first aid ninjutsu skills to the list and he’s a very well balance shinobi,” Yamato finished with a small smile.

Tsunade hummed approvingly. “It sounds as if he’s passed the test with flying colors. If I had known that Hinata had been teaching him first aid, I would have invited him to join our sessions. That’s something I will personally offer to him officially in the near future. I can’t imagine him saying no. Regardless, it would seem that a discussion with the Hyuuga clan elders needs to take place.”

Genma frowned. “So messed up. Can’t believe they’d do that to him while he’s sleeping.”

Raidou nodded in agreement. “I assume you still wish for the three of us to be there when this conversation takes place?”

The Hokage nodded. “Yes. I want a sound barrier as strong as I can make it around that room when we speak. It’s a delicate matter and I have no desire to put the whole clan into an uproar if we’re overheard.” She leaned forward over her desk then, a little suppressed smirk crawling onto her face. “Still, I believe the most shocking information for me is that he’s currently seeing someone.”

“Wait,” Yamato blinked, “he’s dating someone?”

“Who?” Raidou asked, his eyes wide.

Shikamaru’s gaze snapped up to meet Tsunade’s own, and her smirk grew even wider. He resisted the urge to let out a sigh and bit his lip to stem a flow of soft mumbles. Of _course_ his father had shared that information with her.

Genma was looking back and forth between the two of them before he let out an amused laugh. “Shikamaru, you dog! No wonder you were angry about him being hurt! How’d you manage to land a Hyuuga?”

Yamato blinked again before his eyes widened. “Eh?!”

Raidou joined him, his jaw dropping. “Wait, you...and Hyuuga Neji?”

“Troublesome,” Shikamaru grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking out of the closest window.

“How long has it been, man?” Genma teased, a ruthless sparkle in his eyes. If there was one person worse than Kiba when it came to rumors like this one, it was the senbon specialist of ANBU. “Is he good? I bet he looks amazing all laid out and-”

“Genma, enough,” Raidou sighed, closing his eyes. “He might just ask Neji to Jyuuken your entire system.”

“Not a bad idea,” the shadow nin huffed. He was a bit distracted in his response, however, as Genma’s words had painted a rather enticing picture in his mind.

“I believe we should move on,” Tsunade stated, though she was clearly enjoying the Nara’s discomfort. Clearing her throat, she turned back to stare at the three in front of her. “As his ANBU ambush examiners, does Hyuuga Neji pass your test?”

“Yes,” Yamato answered and Raidou nodded after him.

“Hell yeah,” Genma agreed, still smirking in Shikamaru’s direction.

“Then it’s decided,” the Hokage announced, sitting back in her chair. “Tomorrow, if he should accept, Hyuuga Neji will become one of Konoha’s ANBU.”


End file.
